Present Status of Bio-control in India
Biological control or bio-control constitutes a deliberate attempt to use Natural enemies (NEs) either by introducing new species into the environment of a pest or by increasing the effectiveness of those already present Bio-controls came into prominence in recent times owing to some spectacular success achieved in various parts of the world. Many practices of biological control have no doubt been passed down from times immemorial.
Present status of bio-control in India:
The All India coordinated Research Project on Bio-logical control of Crop Pest and Weeds was initiated in 1977 under the aegis of Indian council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, with funds from Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Within two years (1979), ICAR included the project under its research activities with full financial support. When the Common wealth institute of Biological control, Indian Station, Bangalore was closed in 1988. The Project Co-ordinators cell was merged with the unit and taken over by the ICAR. The new headquarters called Biological control Centre (Under the administrative control of National Centre for Integrated Pest Management, Faridabad) was shifted to the premises of this erstwhile CIBC Indian station. Recognition of the importance of biological control came during the VIII plan with the up gradation of the centre to Project Directorate of Biological Control with headquarters at Bangalore. The project Directorate stared functioning on 19th October 1993. The All India Research Project (AICRP) started with 13 centers initially and has now increased to 16 centers, all functioning under the Project Directorate.The project Directorate is located on the Bangalore – Hyderabad National Highway (NH-3), about 8 km from the Bangalore City Railway Station and 1 km from the Bangalore Airport.