Mechanical Methods
These involve direct physical removal or destruction of insects or prevention of their entry/spread.
|
Method |
Description |
Examples / Targets |
|
a. Hand Picking |
Manual collection and destruction of large-sized insects. |
Caterpillars, bugs, beetles (e.g., Spodoptera, Helicoverpa). |
|
b. Shaking and Beating of Branches |
Shaking branches by hand or mechanically to dislodge larvae/adults. |
Useful against defoliators and beetles on trees. |
|
c. Banding |
Placing sticky bands or barriers around tree trunks to prevent pests from climbing up. |
Mango mealy bug, red hairy caterpillar. |
|
d. Wire-Gauge Screens / Fruit Covers |
Protect fruits and vegetables from borers and flies. |
Fruit fly, fruit borer protection. |
|
e. Trench Digging |
Trenches dug around fields to prevent migration of crawling pests. |
Locust nymphs, hairy caterpillar larvae. |
|
f. Trapping |
Use of various traps to attract and kill pests. |
Light trap, pheromone trap, sticky trap, bait trap, sound trap. |
|
g. Flooding & Draining |
Flooding or draining fields to kill soil-dwelling insects or larvae. |
Rice root weevil, white grubs, termites. |
Physical Methods
Based on manipulation of temperature, humidity, light, or radiation to control pests.
|
Method |
Description / Mechanism |
Examples / Remarks |
|
a. Temperature Control |
Heat or cold used to destroy pests. |
Flame throwers used against grasshoppers. |
|
b. Grain Drying |
Maintain low moisture content to prevent storage pest infestation. |
Safe moisture levels: |
|
c. Light / Radiation |
Light traps attract nocturnal insects; radiation used for sterilization (SIT). |
Sterile Insect Technique against fruit fly. |
|
d. Humidity Control |
Reducing moisture to discourage fungal and insect growth. |
Storage pest control. |
Legal Control
The government-enforced measures to prevent the introduction and spread of pests from one region to another (nationally or internationally).
|
Law / Institution |
Year / Place |
Purpose |
|
DIPA – Destructive Insect Pest Act |
1914 |
First legal act in India to regulate import of plants/seeds and prevent entry of exotic pests. |
|
DPPQS – Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage |
1946, Faridabad (Haryana) |
Responsible for plant quarantine, pesticide testing, and IPM promotion. |
|
Domestic Quarantine |
— |
Implemented for specific pests within India (e.g., banana bunchy top virus, San José scale). |
|
Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order |
2003 |
Latest comprehensive legal framework for plant pest prevention. |
Biological Control
“The utilization of parasitoids, predators, or pathogens to regulate pest population density.” Term first used by H.S. Smith (1919).
Types of Biological Control Agents
- Parasitoids
Special type of parasites that kill their host during development; require only one host for completion of life cycle.
|
Type |
Example |
Target Pest / Crop |
|
Egg Parasitoids |
Trichogramma spp. |
Eggs of Helicoverpa, Spodoptera, Chilo. |
|
Larval Parasitoids |
Cotesia, Bracon hebetor, Campoletis chloridae |
Larvae of bollworms and borers. |
|
Pupal Parasitoids |
Tetrastichus, Brachymeria spp. |
Pupae of cotton bollworm, sugarcane borers. |
Main Orders:
- Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae, Braconidae, Chalcidoidea, Proctotrupoidea
- Diptera: Tachinidae (e.g., Tachinid flies)
- Predators
Free-living, larger in size; kill and consume multiple prey during their lifetime.
|
Predator |
Scientific Name |
Target Pest |
|
Ladybird beetle |
Coccinella septempunctata |
Aphids, mealybugs. |
|
Lacewing |
Chrysoperla carnea |
Aphids, whiteflies, jassids. |
|
Syrphid fly |
Syrphus corollae |
Aphids. |
|
Dragonfly/Damselfly |
— |
Mosquito larvae. |
|
Spiders |
— |
Generalist predators in fields. |
- Pathogens (Microbial Control Agents)
Diseases caused by microorganisms pathogenic to insects.
|
Pathogen Type |
Example |
Target Pest |
|
Bacteria |
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) |
Caterpillars, bollworms, DBM. |
|
Viruses |
NPV (Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus), GV (Granulosis Virus) |
Helicoverpa armigera, Spodoptera litura. |
|
Fungi |
Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Verticillium lecanii |
Whiteflies, aphids, termites. |
|
Protozoa |
Nosema locustae |
Locusts, grasshoppers. |
|
Nematodes |
Steinernema, Heterorhabditis spp. |
Soil-dwelling pests. |
⚙️ Methods of Biological Control
|
Type |
Description |
Example |
|
Conservation |
Protecting existing natural enemies. |
Avoid broad-spectrum pesticides. |
|
Augmentation |
Mass release of natural enemies. |
Trichogramma chilonis in cotton. |
|
Introduction (Classical) |
Import & release of exotic enemies for invasive pests. |
Rodolia cardinalis against cottony cushion scale (Icerya purchasi). |
Important Milestones in Biological Control
|
Year |
Event |
|
1888 |
Rodolia cardinalis (Vedalia beetle) successfully controlled cottony cushion scale in California – first classical biocontrol success. |
|
1919 |
Term biological control coined by H.S. Smith. |
|
1964 |
Book Biological Control of Insect Pests and Weeds by Paul DeBach published – standardized the field. |
Key Facts for Quick Revision
- Father of Biological Control: Paul DeBach
- Father of Applied Entomology: William Kirby
- Father of Host Plant Resistance: R.H. Painter
- First Viral Biopesticide Registered (India): Elcar (Helicoverpa NPV), 1975
- Most used parasitoid in India: Trichogramma chilonis
- Most used predator: Chrysoperla carnea
