ABSTRACT
Ecologically safe and environment-friendly pest control strategies and technologies are important to ensure the quality of Chinese agricultural products and sustainable agricultural development. Aphids are among the world’s major agricultural and forest pests, and Myzus persicae Sulzer (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is one of the main agricultural pests in China, transmitting various viral diseases and causing reductions in crop yield and quality that regularly triggered applications of synthetic insecticides. Aphidius gifuensis Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is an important endoparasitoid of many aphids. Starting in 2000, the Yunnan Tobacco Company has developed methods for large-scale rearing of this parasitoid on this aphid, and technological systems for augmentative releases of A. gifuensis. The augmentative use of this parasitoid has achieved area-wide suppression of M. persicae in tobacco and other crops in China. This approach is being applied on large areas, covering more than 3 million ha between 2010 and 2015. This programme is currently the largest biological control programme in China. Over 500 mass-rearing facilities were constructed in 16 provinces with a total surface area of 420 000 m2 and a breeding capacity of 24 000 million parasitoids per breeding period. This technology has effectively controlled the aphid on tobacco, while other beneficial insects have increased in the absence of insecticide applications, further protecting biodiversity in the fields and providing long-term ecological benefits. The use of this technology has also been expanded to other crops, solving problems of insecticide resistance in the targeted aphids, reducing pesticide residues and environmental pollution, and yielding benefits for society, the economy, and the environment.
