TOWARDS BIOLOGICAL-CONTROL AS A MAJOR COMPONENT OF INTEGRATED PEST-MANAGEMENT IN STORED-PRODUCT PROTECTION

Integrated pest management in stored product protection is defined. Ar eas of research and implementation of biological control in stored pro duct protection and advantages and Limits of such an approach are anal ysed, Limiting factors for effective application of natural enemies ar e discussed and implications for human health, hygiene and authorisati on are considered. Economics of biological control are discussed withi n the context of integrated management for stored product protection. Examples are chosen mainly from areas only recently gaining some atten tion such as retail trade and stored product insects as material-destr oying pests. If wider economic aspects, including ecological arguments , are considered, and biological control methods are fully explored, t he position of biological control within integrated pest management in stored product protection will strengthen. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.