Definition, History, and Concept of

Biological Control Plant Pathogens

Why biological control?
Plant diseases need to be controlled to maintain the
quality and abundance of food or feed produced by
growers around the world.

Different approaches may be used to prevent,

mitigate or control plant diseases.

Beyond good agronomic and horticultural practices,

growers often rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and
pesticides.
Such inputs to agriculture have contributed significantly
to the spectacular improvements in crop productivity
and quality over the past 100 years.

However, the environmental pollution caused by

excessive use and misuse of agrochemicals, as well as
fear by some opponents of pesticides, has led to
considerable changes in people’s attitudes towards the
use of pesticides in agriculture
Today, there are strict regulations on chemical
pesticide use, and there is political pressure to remove
the most hazardous chemicals from the market.

Consequently some pest management researchers

have focused their efforts on developing alternative
inputs to synthetic chemicals for controlling pests
and diseases.

Among these alternatives are those referred to as

Biological Controls.
Definitions
The terms “biological control” or
“biocontrol” have been used in different
fields of biology, most notably
entomology and plant pathology.
In entomology, it has been used to
describe as “The use of living predatory
insects, entomopathogenic nematodes,
or microbial pathogens to suppress
populations of different pest insects”
In plant pathology, the term applies to
“The use of microbial antagonists to
suppress diseases as well as the use of
host specific pathogens to control weed
populations”
In both fields, the organism that
suppresses the pest or pathogen is
referred to as the Biological Control
Agent (BCA).
More broadly, the term biological control
also has been applied to “The use of the
natural products extracted or fermented
from various sources”
The various definitions offered in the
scientific literature have sometimes
caused confusion and controversy
For example, members of the U.S.
National Research Council took into account
modern biotechnological developments and
referred to biological control as:

“The use of natural or modified organisms,

genes, or gene products, to reduce the
effects of undesirable organisms and to favor
desirable organisms such as crops, beneficial
insects, and microorganisms”
Because the term biological control can
refer to a spectrum of ideas, it is
important to define the breadth of the
term when it is applied to the review of
any particular work.
Most broadly, biological control is “The
suppression of damaging activities of one
organism by one or more other organisms,
often referred to as natural enemies”.

With regards to plant diseases,

suppression can be accomplished in many
ways.
If growers’ activities are considered relevant,
cultural practices such as the use of rotations
and planting of disease resistant cultivars
(whether naturally selected or genetically
engineered) would be included in the
definition.

Because the plant host responds to numerous

biological factors, both pathogenic and non-
pathogenic, induced host resistance might
be considered a form of biological control.
More narrowly, biological control refers to
“The purposeful utilization of introduced
or resident living organisms, other than
disease resistant host plants, to suppress
the activities and populations of one or
more plant pathogens”
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
Biological control of pest dated back to 16th
century in China.

They were the first to use natural enemies to

control insect pests in the 3rd century, for
controlling citrus insect pest such as
Tesseratoma papillosa (Lepidoptera) using
nests of the ant Oecophylla smaragdina was
sold near Canton
 Tesseratoma papillosa

Oecophylla smaragdina
Similarly, Date growers in Yemen went
to North Africa to collect colonies of
predaceous ants which they colonized
in date groves to control various pests
(Bellows, 1996).
In 1734, de Reaumur suggested to
collect the eggs of an "aphidivorousfly"
(actually a lacewing) and place them
in greenhouses to control aphids.
The term biological control as a feasible
preposition of plant disease
management was coined for the first
time by von Tubuef in 1914.

Since then various bio- control products

have been found to be effective in
controlling the plant disease
Sanford (1926) observed that the
potato scab was suppressed by
green manuring antagonistic
activities.

Streptomyces scabies
Weindling (1932) reported the
parasitic nature of Trichoderma
lignorumon several plant
pathogens.
Grossbard (1948-1952), Wright (1952-
1957), and others demonstrated that
antibiotics were produced in soil by
Pencilium, Aspergillus, Trichoderma,
Streptomyces ssp

A B C
Kloepper (1980), demonstrated the
importance of siderophores
produced by Erwinia carotovora.
The bio-control effect of AMF has been
observed in a wide range of plant species
and against many pathogens, most of
them soil-borne fungal pathogens causing
root wilting
Successful bio-control effect of AMF has
also been observed against above
ground pathogens such as Alternaria
solani in tomato (Jung et al., 2012).
In the second half of the 20th Century,
following the Green Revolution, biological
control has resurfaced with renewed
force in recent years, especially by the
adoption of integrated pest management
(IPM) programs
These programs were implemented
as a consequence of the
indiscriminate use of agrochemicals,
which led to a number of problems,
such as insect and mite resistance to
insecticides as well as environmental
contamination (Guillon, 2008).
STRATEGY AND PRINCIPLES OF
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL
There are 3 basics strategies in
biological control of pests, viz;
1.Classical Biological Control
(Importation)
2.Augmentation and
3.Conservation
Classical biological control is defined by
Eilenberg et al. (200 l) as “The intentional
introduction of an exotic biological
control agent for permanent
establishment and long-term pest
control”.
When an organism is introduced either
intentionally or accidentally into an area
in which it did not occur previously, it can
sometimes increase to a high population
density and become a serious pest.

This population increase is mostly due to

the fact that the pest was introduced
without its natural enemies.
The main principle of classical biological
control is shown in figure 1.
Figure1. Classical biological control
The goal of classical biological control is
to find useful natural enemies, introduce
them into the area of the target pest, and
permanently establish them so that they
will provide continuing pest control with
the result that the pest population
decreases in population density, hopefully
below the economic injury level of the
pest.
The process of classical biological control
involves:
(1) Determining the origin of the
introduced pest.
(2) Collecting appropriate natural
enemies associated with the pest or
closely related species.
(3) Selected natural enemies are then
passed through a rigorous assessment,
testing and quarantine process, to
ensure that they will work and that no
unwanted organisms are introduced.
(4) Mass production and release of
selected natural enemies.
(5) Follow-up studies are conducted to
determine if the natural enemy
becomes successfully established at
the site of release, and to assess the
long-term benefit of its presence
Augmentation is the other strategy of biological
control is also defined by Eilenberg et al. (2001)
as “The intentional release of a living organism
as a biological control agent with the
expectation that it will multiply and control the
pest for an extended period, but not
permanently”
It includes the periodic release of a natural
enemy that does not occur naturally in sufficient
numbers to keep a pest below damaging levels
(van Lenteren, 2000)
The practice of augmentation is based on the
knowledge or assumption that in some situations
there are not adequate numbers or species of
natural enemies to provide optimal biological
control, but that the numbers can be increased
by releases
This relies on an ability to mass-produce large
numbers of the natural enemy in a laboratory or
by companies to produce and sell them.

There are two general approaches to

augmentation, i.e.,
1. inoculative releases and
2. inundative releases
Inoculation biological control is a type of augmented
biocontrol strategy and defined by Eilenberg et
al.(2001) as “Intentional release of a living organism
as a biological control agent with the expectation
that it will multiply and control the pest for an
extended period, but not permanently”.
Its control involves releasing small numbers of natural
enemies at prescribed intervals throughout the pest
period, starting when the pest population is very low.

The natural enemies are expected to reproduce

themselves to provide more long-term control.

However, the expected outcome of inoculative releases

is to keep the pest at low numbers, never allowing it to
approach an economic injury level; therefore, it is more
of a preventive measure
The main principle of inoculation biological control is
shown on figure (2).

A pest population increases in size but in due course,

before this population density has reached the potential
maximum, a biocontrol agent is inoculated in small to
moderate amounts (Time T on figure 2).
Figure2. Inoculation biological control
Its goal is to increase population size of the natural
enemy in order to control the pest over a period of time.

The inoculated bio-control organisms will, however, not

establish permanently at a sufficient high population
density.

The pest will therefore increase in population size after a

period of time and a new inoculation would then be
needed.

The events in inoculation biological control are often

limited to one cropping season, so the time scale on
figure (2) is weeks or months
Conceptually it is therefore comparable to classical
biological control but with the main differences that:
l) Inoculation biological control uses mostly organisms
which a1ready occur in the area of application
2) On1y temporary establishment is achieved.
Inundation biological control is other type of
augmentation bio-control and defined by Ei1enberget
al. (2001) as “The use of living organisms to control the
pests when control is achieved exclusively by the
released organisms themselves”.
The main principle of inundation biological control is
shown on figure (3).

A pest population increases in size, but at a certain time

(Time T on figure 3, for example when the economic
injury level has been passed) a bio-control organism is
applied in large amounts (inundated).

The pest is quickly controlled and the population density

of both the pest and the bio-control agent decrease
over time.
Figure3. Inundation Biological Control
The pest population will, after a period of time, increase
again and a new application of the bio-control agent is
needed.

The events in inundation biological control are often

limited to one cropping season, so the time scale on
figure 3 is weeks or months.
Conservation biological control is also other strategy of
the biological control can be defined as “Modification
of the environment or existing practices to protect and
enhance specific enemies or other organisms to reduce
the effect of pests” (Eilenberg et al. 2001).
Habitat manipulation often involves increasing the
species diversity and structural complexity of agro
ecosystems.

Habitat manipulation approaches provide natural

enemies with resources such as nectar, pollen, physical
refugia, alternative prey and alternative hosts and
operate to reduce pest densities via an enhancement
of natural enemies
The main principle of conservation biological control is
shown on figure (4).

A pest occurs at high population levels due to

insufficient effects of the natural enemies.

Natural enemies include all kinds of biological

regulation: macro- and microorganisms controlling in
vertebrates, weeds and plant diseases, including the
antagonistic microorganisms responsible for suppressive
soils.
Figure4. Conservation biological contro
At time T on figure (4), the environment is modified or
the practice is changed in order to enhance the natural
enemies, which are already present.

They increase in population size and their effect results in

a lower pest population. The time scale on figure (4) can
be years
Conservation biological control is thus completely
different from the three other biological control
strategies, since no organisms are released.

Only organisms, which are already present, are

enhanced in order to avoid damage.

It is important to keep in mind that the definition allows

both passive and active conservation.
An example of passive conservation is the avoidance of
actions which disfavour the natural enemies, for
example spraying with certain chemical pesticides.

An active conservation could be the initiation of actions

to support the natural enemies actively by establishing
for example 'beetle banks' (Landis et al., 2000).
In Barbosa (1998) and Pickett and Bugg (1998), many
other examples of habitat manipulation at different
levels are found, from landscape to crop plants.

Among the four biological control strategies,

conservation biological control can be seen as the most
tightly connected to the main principles of organic
farming, which have the protection of the existing
natural enemies as one of the main principles.
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