Ritesh Kumar
Senior Research Fellow (Plant Pathology)
ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region-Research Centre
Senior Research Fellow (Plant Pathology)
ICAR Research Complex for Eastern Region-Research Centre
Ranchi-834010 Jharkhand, India
Email id.- ritesh.nstt@gmail.com
According
to Cook and Baker (1983) ‘Biological control is the reduction of the amount of
inoculum or disease producing activity of a pathogen accomplished by or through
one or more organisms other than man’. The terms “biological control” and its
abbreviated synonym “biocontrol” have been used in different fields of biology,
most notably entomology and plant pathology. In entomology, it has been used to
describe the use of live 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 (Pal et al.,
2006). 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 may also be applied
to the use of the natural products extracted or fermented from various sources.
These formulations may be very simple mixtures of natural ingredients with
specific activities or complex mixtures with multiple effects on the host as
well as the target pest or pathogen.
