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Background information

Natural enemies

There are several basic texts on biological control which give background information on different types of biological control, biological control agents and successes of biological control (e.g. (van den Bosch et al. 1982, DeBach and Rosen 1991, van Driesche and Bellows 1996).

Natural enemies of invertebrate pests

Natural enemies of weeds

Phytophagous insects and mites have been used extensively for weed biological control, but plant pathogens have also been used. Weed biological control agents can target seeds, foliage, stems or roots of the weed, and combinations of agents attacking different parts of the plant are often employed. Biological control can reduce plant vigour so that other controls are more effective in integrated weed management systems.

References

DeBach P. and Rosen D. (1991). Biological control by natural enemies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

van den Bosch, R., Messenger, P.S. and Gutierrez, A.P. (1982). An introduction to biological control. Intext Educational Publishers, Plenum Press, New York and London. Pp 247

van Driesche R.G. and Bellows T.S. (1996). Biological control. Chapman and Hall, New York. 539 pp.