Editing Biological pest control (section)

===Augmentation===

[[File:Lady bugs are a beneficial insect commonly sold for biological control of aphids..jpg|thumb|''[[Hippodamia convergens]]'', the convergent lady beetle, is commonly sold for biological control of [[aphids]].]]

Augmentation involves the supplemental release of natural enemies that occur in a particular area, boosting the naturally occurring populations there. In inoculative release, small numbers of the control agents are released at intervals to allow them to reproduce, in the hope of setting up longer-term control and thus keeping the pest down to a low level, constituting prevention rather than cure. In inundative release, in contrast, large numbers are released in the hope of rapidly reducing a damaging pest population, correcting a problem that has already arisen. Augmentation can be effective, but is not guaranteed to work, and depends on the precise details of the interactions between each pest and control agent.<ref name="Augmentation">{{cite web |title=Augmentation: The Periodic Release of Natural Enemies |url=http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/fea104.html |publisher=University of Wisconsin |access-date=7 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317104655/http://www.entomology.wisc.edu/mbcn/fea104.html |archive-date=17 March 2016 }}</ref>

An example of inoculative release occurs in the horticultural production of several crops in [[greenhouse]]s. Periodic releases of the parasitoidal wasp, ''[[Encarsia formosa]]'', are used to control greenhouse [[whitefly]],<ref name=Hoddle1998/> while the predatory mite ''[[Phytoseiulus persimilis]]'' is used for control of the two-spotted spider mite.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biological control. Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acarina: Phytoseiidae) |url=http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/predators/Phytoseiulus.php |publisher=Cornell University |access-date=7 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151115184109/http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/predators/Phytoseiulus.php |archive-date=15 November 2015 }}</ref>

The egg parasite ''[[Trichogramma]]'' is frequently released inundatively to control harmful moths. New way for inundative releases are now introduced i.e. use of drones. Egg parasitoids are able to find the eggs of the target host by means of several cues. Kairomones were found on moth scales. Similarly, ''Bacillus thuringiensis'' and other microbial insecticides are used in large enough quantities for a rapid effect.<ref name="Augmentation"/> Recommended release rates for ''Trichogramma'' in vegetable or field crops range from 5,000 to 200,000 per acre (1 to 50 per square metre) per week according to the level of pest infestation.<ref name="Peter2009">{{cite book|last=Peter |first=K. V. |title=Basics Of Horticulture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NWMa741kG_gC&pg=PA288 |year=2009 |publisher=New India Publishing |isbn=978-81-89422-55-4 |page=288 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407233649/https://books.google.com/books?id=NWMa741kG_gC&pg=PA288 |archive-date=2017-04-07 }}</ref> Similarly, [[nematodes]] that kill insects (that are entomopathogenic) are released at rates of millions and even billions per acre for control of certain soil-dwelling insect pests.<ref>{{cite web|title=Biological Control. Nematodes (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae & Heterorhabditidae) |url=http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/pathogens/nematodes.php |author1=Shapiro-Ilan, David I |author2=Gaugler, Randy |publisher=Cornell University |access-date=7 June 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151215090802/http://www.biocontrol.entomology.cornell.edu/pathogens/nematodes.php |archive-date=15 December 2015 }}</ref>