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Most of the common pests that invade gardens are weed and insect species which are detrimental to the wellbeing of garden plants. A wide range of pests threatens the wellbeing of desirable plants that are being cultivated by humans for aesthetic and practical purposes. Invasive insects, parasitoids, rodents, and weeds are some of the most common categories of pests that can be controlled with natural means. Nonetheless, introducing natural or biological control of pests still requires human intervention. Using natural biological enemies of pests are used instead of relying on toxic pesticides or radically modifying the surrounding. The population of pests are kept in check by introducing natural biological controls. The natural biological controls are less expensive and their effects are much more sustainable; nonetheless, careful study should be made to prevent negative side-effects. There are a few instances wherein the introduction of organisms as biological control has some backlashes. The probability of developing stronger strains of pests and the unintended impacts of the biological control agents cannot easily be dismissed. There is the possibility that the local ecosystem can be disrupted if the biological agents are carrying pathogens or parasites. At worst, the introduced biological agents may be carriers of pathogens that that are directly harmful to humans. Hence, it is crucial that a thorough clinical examination of these biological agents should be made before the mass release of these organisms into the local ecosystem. Importation, augmentation, and conservation are the three main categories of biological control methods against pests. Introducing non-native biological agents to control pest population is referred to as importation. The different types of natural enemies of pests may be categorized as predators, pathogens or parasites. For example, the mite species known as Hypoaspis-miles are used as an effective biological control for fungus gnats; these mites are natural predators that eat the larvae of fungus gnats. Other types of biological control agents include some species of plants which serve as secondary pest control. These are used as complementary control and usually serve as insect repellents such as garlic and onion which are effective in repelling mites. The supplemental release of additional locally existing biological agents is called augmentation. It is a form of booster inoculation that is generally done on regular intervals, particularly when there is an expected rise in the population of pests. For example, the parasitoid, Encarsia formosa, are used commonly used to periodically control the population of greenhouse whitefly. Finally, the third method of biological control is known as conservation which refers to the sustainable maintenance of the existing population of biological control agents. By providing a conducive environment for the desirable organisms, the population of pests will be effectively controlled. The cropping system, for instance, can be adjusted to create a suitable habitat for soldier beetles. Soldier beetles are natural predators of aphids, caterpillars, grasshopper eggs, and other beetles. If you want to know more, simply visit the CX Hydroponics website. Check out our official YouTube channel, http://www.youtube.com/user/cxhydroponics?feature=watch, for details.Also visit one of our blog sites, http://cxhydroponicsuk.livejournal.com/811.html, for information.
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biological control, natural pest control, hydroponics products,
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