The South American tomato moth Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) is a devastating pest of tomato. In the present study Tuta-adapted strains of Trichogramma were evaluated. Amongst the three species, Trichogramma achaeae Nagaraja and Nagarkatti, Trichogramma pretiosum Riley and Trichogrammatoidea bactrae Nagaraja could parasitise T. absoluta eggs and the parasitism rates were 5.0%, 51.1% and 68.2% respectively. Adults emerged from the parasitized T. absoluta eggs (4.8%, 97.5% and 90.0% adult emergence respectively). The F1 generation adults of T.

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides world-wide, but their fate in the environment remains unclear, as does their potential to influence non-target species and the roles they play in agroecosystems. The researchers investigated in laboratory and field studies the influence of the neonicotinoid thiamethoxam, applied as a coating to soya bean seeds, on interactions among soya beans, non target molluscan herbivores and their insect predators.

Biological control provided by natural enemies play an important role in integrated pest management. Generalist insect predators provide an important biological service in the regulation of agricultural insect pests. Our goal is to understand the explicit process of oviposition preference, habitat selection and feeding behavior of predators in farmland ecosystem consisting of multiple crops, which is central to devising and delivering an integrated pest management program.

The widespread use of Bt crops reduces the outbreaks of certain targeted pests and the need for insecticide use, leading to enhanced biocontrol of other potential pest species in the Bt crops; neighbouring non-Bt crops may also benefit.

Parasitoid disturbance populations in agroecosystems can be maintained through the provision of habitat refuges with host resources. However, specialized herbivores that feed on different host plants have been shown to form host-specialized races. Parasitoids may subsequently specialize on these herbivore host races and therefore prefer parasitizing insects from the refuge, avoiding foraging on the crop.

The filamentous ascomycetous fungi Trichoderma spp. are agriculturally and industrially important, being the major source of many commercial enzymes and as biofungicides. More than 60% of all registered biofungicides used for plant disease control are Trichoderma-based. Mycoparasitism, wherein one fungus directly kills and obtain nutrients from other fungi is considered to be one of the most important mechanisms of biocontrol. 

Agronomic intensification has transformed many agricultural landscapes into expansive monocultures with little natural habitat. A pervasive concern is that such landscape simplification results in an increase in insect pest pressure, and thus an increased need for insecticides.

Only when farming is based upon "natural principles" can it be truly sustainable. Ecological farming is based on nurturing and nourishing the soils. Emphasizing soil conservation and building up organic matter are key to maintain these natural ecological balances in crop ecosystems. Mojo plantation is one such attempt.

A survey of organic and conventional potato fields shows that species evenness is greater under organic management. Replicating these levels of evenness in a field trial shows that the evenness of natural enemies found in organic fields promotes pest control and increases crop biomass. This is independent of the identity of the dominant enemy species, so is a result of evenness itself.