International Workshop on Mass rearing and Quality Assurance of Biocontrol Agents in Bangalore

There is a very high demand for pesticide-free and organic farm produce in India and abroad. The only environment-friendly and safe option open to farmers is to adopt the biological control method of plant protection. Biological control encourages the use of ecological friendly natural enemies to control pests and diseases. There are several success stories using biological control from the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects (NBAII), Bangalore. Some of these are as follows:
1.    Papaya mealy bug – an invasive pest which caused over Rs.2500 crores of loss per year. Biocontrol saved this loss and since 2010, this pest is under check in south India.
2.    Eucalyptus Gall Wasp – an invasive insect caused major loss to eucalyptus and paper industry to the tune of Rs.1000 crores. Biocontrol helped to cut this menace and huge loss across the country.
3.    Rice borers have been kept under control using biocontrol agents, saving for the farmers’ expenditure on pesticides at the same time environmentally making the rice – fields pollution-free.
4.    Large scale training on the biocontrol of coconut leaf eating caterpillar to several development agencies and NGO’s have saved the coconut industry.
5.    The lake-polluting water hyacinth and Salvinea water weeds have been kept under check, thanks to introduced natural enemies. Several water bodies across our country have been saved. There are many more such examples.
So, mass rearing of quality biocontrol agents is one of the most important pre-requisites for the success of any biological control programme. Considering the relevance of this theme area in the current agricultural scenario, the Society for Biological Advancement, Bangalore and the International Organization for Biological Control are jointly organizing the 13th Workshop of the Mass Rearing and Quality Assurance of Invertebrates at the National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects (erstwhile Project Directorate of Biological Control (ICAR), Bangalore.
    The workshop is held from 6th to 8th November, 2013 at Movenpick Hotel and Spa, near BEL Circle, Bangalore and the inaugural session will be held from 9 to 10 am on the 6th November, 2013. Issues related to the rearing of quality parasitic and predatory insects and entomopathegenic nematodes as well as principles and practices of quality assurance in the mass production of biocontrol agents will be addressed at this workshop.
Around 100 researchers and representatives from commercial insectaries from 30 countries across the world would be participating.