Biological Control and Disaster Management

Contents: Preface. 1. Introduction. 2. Concepts and visions of biological control. 3. Socioeconomic significance of biological control. 4. Biological control in organic production. 5. Food consumption, risk perception and alternative production technologies. 6. Education in biological control. 7. Governmental regulations. 8. Structural preparedness. 9. Coordinating with local assets. 10. Developing an action plan. 11. Disaster preparedness assessments. Bibliography. Index.

“Most of the world’s wealth is controlled by western industrialized nations, but most of humanity lives in the developing world. The west relies heavily on capital and technology, whereas in the developing world labour is the most important resource. One of the chief constraints on agricultural production throughout the world is invasion be weeds. A western farmer or land manager has a number of technological tools available to counter the threat posed by weeds, from bulldozers and helicopters to mycoherbicides and genetic engineering, but still weeds reduce crop yields by up to 10%. The ability of subsistence farmers in the developing world to feed themselves is frequently limited by the amount of land they can clear and maintain weed free by hand. Hand weeding accounts for up to 60% of pre-harvest labour in the developing world and weeds reduce crop yields by 20-30%.

Classical biological control of weeds has an enviable safety record and should be especially attractive in the developing world where conventional chemical and mechanical control methods are frequently beyond the economic and technological reach of farmers and land managers. The ability of biological control agents to search for and locate the target weed without external intervention or additional input of resources makes it a particularly appropriate method subsistence economies.”