Today you will learn everything you need to know about biopesticides, an excellent option within biological pest control techniques.
What do you normally use to control pests on your plants and crops? Are you one of those people who follows the past and uses only inorganic pesticides that do a lot of damage to plants, the earth and the environment? Does not matter!
It is important that you understand that biopesticides are only one of the methods or techniques of biological control of pests, there are also other ways to carry out this control which will not be discussed in this article.
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What is a biopesticide?
A biopesticide is simply an organic pesticide that is developed using only completely natural materials and some of their derivatives, such as plant remains, animal waste, different types of bacteria and even some of the minerals.
For example, a bacterium of the Bacillales order can cause the death of the young of some insects without affecting the plants on which it is used.
Types of biological pest control techniques
There are different types of biopesticides, but, in general, we could mainly separate them into three types: plant pesticides, biochemicals and microbials. Let’s learn a little about each of these types of biopesticides.
Pesticide plants
By adding genetic material to the plant, very interesting results can be achieved, for example, that the same plant generates bacteria that naturally fight against pests.
Biochemical pesticides
They are the most common and are not toxic. The main objective of this type of pesticide is to include some substances that ward off insects, make them fall into traps or even affect their mating. These pesticides are part of the chemical and biological control of pests.
Some examples of this type of control are:
- When there are many slugs and snails in our crops, use a pot with beer and they will fall there.
- Another control for whiteflies, for example, is to put a yellow pot with a little soap and they will also be trapped.
- Fumigate our garden or crop with a mixture of garlic and chili blended in a portion of water.
Microbial pesticides
The example we gave earlier is of a microbial pesticide because it consists of the use of a bacterium (it can also be fungi, viruses, among other things) to eliminate pests in one way or another.
History of biological pest control techniques
Did you know that physical, chemical and biological pest control has been used since 1880? This form of pest control began in the United States when they brought an insect from Australia that would help them fight against the annoying ribbed mealybug.
The results were excellent and permanent, this surprised people a lot at that time and led them to trust and continue studying a little more about these methods to be used in their crops. One of the great advantages of using Rodolia cardinalis to fight mealybugs was the cheapness of its importation and its great results.
Over the years and advances in technology for biological pest control, many more solutions have been achieved in different methods and biopesticides to fight pests naturally and without affecting the environment that surrounds us. These solutions are also usually much cheaper and in many cases permanent.
Currently many people around the world are betting on this type of pest control, it is even estimated that the percentage of people using biological control will grow quite a bit in the years to come, and as you will see below, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages of the biopesticides and that makes those who cultivate seek more useful solutions for their crops.
Advantages of biological pest control techniques
What are the advantages of biological pest control? This is a question that you are surely asking yourself right now and it makes a lot of sense for you to ask yourself. Is it really beneficial to change my way of doing things and the use of inorganic pesticides for biopesticides? You will see that it is worth it and that there are many advantages.
They are very non-toxic
Did you know that common pesticides are highly toxic to plants, the soil, the environment, and even those that feed on your crops? It is for this reason that non-toxic biopesticides are widely recommended.
They do not affect other organisms
Surely pest control only affects the organisms that harm your plants and not everything that surrounds them (birds, pets and other animals).
In many cases the effect is permanent.
One of the great advantages of biological pest control is that its effects can be permanent in many cases, which ensures you have fewer concerns with pests in the present and in the future.
May be the most economical method of pest control
To your surprise, we can assure you that biological control can be the most economical way to control pests. Clearly if you think about the results in the medium and long term.
It is important to know the advantages and disadvantages of biological pest control pdf, for that reason, now we will tell you about the disadvantages that this method may have.
Disadvantages of biological pest control techniques
It is a bit more complex to apply
You will need to have a little deeper knowledge to know how to apply biological pest control methods. Some strategies must be taken and some plans followed to achieve the expected results.
It’s a little slower
Biological pest control often takes a little longer to kick in, indicating that we need to be more patient when dealing with our pests.
It is not recommended to use together with inorganic pesticides
It is very common that if you use biopesticides and inorganic pesticides at the same time that the latter end up damaging the biological control of pests and you waste the time and money invested in it. Therefore, you should try to apply only biological control to avoid these types of problems.
As you can see, the use of these natural, organic methods that do not harm the environment is not only advantageous to take care of our health and that of our environment, there are also many advantages when it comes to taking care of our crops and that is why That is why we ask you to investigate a little more about biological pest control and learn new methods that can change your life and your way of thinking.
Perhaps you may be interested in knowing some biological controls for the cultivation of blackberries, tomatoes, or corn.