Quality in production is a major differentiator of biological control

One of the greatest experts in biological control in the world, José Roberto Postali Parra is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Acarology at the “Luiz de Queiroz” School of Agriculture (Esalq/USP), and one of the precursors of integrated pest management in Brazil . He has been dedicated to biological control for more than four decades and gave an overview of how the practice is today in Brazil and around the world and what the expectations are for the coming years.

How do you see the development of the use of biological control in Brazil and around the world?

Parra - There is global euphoria around sustainable agriculture. Biological control as a component of this system that is being sought, has been increasing around the world at around 10 to 15% per year. In Brazil, especially for microorganisms (fungi, viruses, bacteria, etc.) this number is even higher than the rest of the world. However, there are many challenges to be overcome in our agriculture, based on production systems with large areas and considering the Brazilian farmer's culture focused on agrochemicals. Especially for macro-organisms, the availability of biological inputs is still a major problem, alongside the transfer of technology to a farmer not used to working with biologicals.

Integrated pest and disease management is gaining ground. What still needs to be used more?

Parra - IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is the ideal pest control philosophy. However, it is, in many cases, still theoretical and as the North Americans say, there is very little “I” in this IPM (Integrated Pest Management), that is, we have little integration of methods being used in practice. In Australia, there are excellent results in cotton. In Brazil, IPM is based, in most cases, on the use of the pest's level of economic damage, sometimes with pheromones, rotation of active ingredients of agrochemicals, genetically modified plants and in very few cases, use of selective products. Citrus crops have a good IPM program to control HLB (greening), although it uses a lot of insecticide in commercial areas.

What are the biggest obstacles to the use of organic products by Brazilian farmers?

Parra - There are still few companies with quality products and their portfolio, especially for macro-organisms, is still small. For microorganisms the situation is better, as in addition to the greater similarity with agrochemicals for application (the farmer identifies more with them) they are easier to produce and have a so-called “shelf life”, different from macros that need to be used soon after the emergence of natural enemies.

Other problems, such as monitoring and release in large areas, have been solved with the use of drones and planes and with more modern pest monitoring methods.

The critical mass in the area of ​​biological control is still small for new inter and multidisciplinary programs. Storage and transport logistics, considering the country's large territorial extensions, is another serious problem, which will only be improved with the professionalization of companies producing biological inputs.

However, the farmer's culture of agrochemicals still persists, and there is a lack of available alternative inputs, necessitating the emergence of new companies dedicated to the formulation of micro- and automated production of macro-organisms.

I see a promising future for biological control, as long as these obstacles are overcome.

How is the development of new natural enemies?

Parra - This is a different area, as new CB (biological control) agents have not been sought, despite our rich biodiversity. A CB Center is to be created at the “Luiz de Queiroz” School of Agriculture (Esalq/USP), together with Koppert and Fapesp (Fundação de Amparo a Ciência do Estado de São Paulo) aiming to search for new CB agents. CB. Researchers must be encouraged, as the development of a biological product can be time-consuming and reaching the farmer depends on inter and multidisciplinary actions.

O Trichogramma galloi, today used in more than 2 million ha to control Diatraea saccharalis, began in 1984 and was launched for farmers in 2000.

What is the ideal management for controlling pests and diseases in tropical agriculture, also considering the lowest impact on the environment and health?

Parra - It is integrated pest management, that is, a set of measures that aim to keep pests below the NDE (level of economic damage), taking into account economic, ecological and social criteria.

There are some myths about CB and one of them is that it should solve pests alone. However, most of the time it should be considered as a component of MIP.

What can we learn from biological control developed in other countries?

Parra - When used in large areas, we have very little to learn, as the greatest results are in greenhouses.

Our challenge is to really develop (we are doing this) a BC model for the tropical region, as we have done with our agriculture in the last 40 years.

Without being pretentious, it is logical that there is always something to learn and many basic works have been developed in partnerships with the main universities in the world, but the more applied part we must develop with our researchers, appropriate to our reality.