good correlation has been established
between the laboratory measurements, flight
tests and field performance.
In addition to the quality control tests,
fact-sheets for natural enemies and pests will
be prepared to inform new quality control
personnel and plant-protection services on
biological details.
Conclusions
Companies just beginning the production of
a natural enemy are often rather ignorant
about the obstacles and complications
entailed in mass-rearing programmes. New
producers are even more ignorant about the
development and application of quality con-
trol. A special point of concern is the lack of
knowledge about the sources of variability of
natural-enemy behaviour and methods to
prevent genetic deterioration of natural ene-
mies.
Quality control programmes should be
designed to obtain acceptable quality, not
necessarily the best possible quality. The
number of necessary tests will be smallest if
the natural enemies are reared under the
same conditions as those under which they
also have to function in the field in terms of
the same climate, host and host plant. The
more artificial the rearing conditions
become, and the more the natural enemies
are ‘handled’ before use (removed from the
plant or host, counting, containerization,
gluing to substrate, manipulation to induce
diapause, shipment, release method, etc.),
the larger the number of tests that will have
to be performed. Also, under these circum-
stances, prerelease training of the natural
enemies may be needed so that they can per-
ceive relevant cues from the pest insect or
infested plant.
Simple quality control procedures for nat-
ural enemies have been designed for about
30 natural-enemy species and are currently
being developed for additional natural-
enemy species. The quality control criteria
now used relate to product control and are
based on laboratory measurements that are
easy to carry out. These criteria will be
complemented with flight tests and field-
performance tests.
If the biological control industry is to
survive and flourish, the production of
reliable natural enemies that meet basic
quality standards is essential.Acknowledgements
European producers of natural enemies are
thanked for cooperation in the design of
quality control guidelines. The following
persons are thanked for assisting in obtaining
information about quality control activities
outside Europe: V.H.P. Bueno (Brazil), D.
Conlong (South Africa), D. Papacek
(Australia), R. Rountree (New Zealand) and
E. Yano (Japan). Development of quality
control guidelines was financially supported
by the Commission of the European
Communities, Directorate General for
Agriculture, Concerted Action CT93-1076,
‘Designing and Implementing Quality
Control of Beneficial Insects: Towards More
Reliable Biological Pest Control’. This chapter
does not necessarily reflect the Commission’s
views and in no way anticipates the
Commission’s future policy in this area.Need for Quality Control of Biocontrol Agents 15References
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