Tongxian Liu
Northwest A&F University

Biological control in China has a very rich history, tracing back to the 300 AD or earlier. Farmers in ancient China thoroughly observed and understood the interactions of pests and their enemies, and one record probably in Poetry Book - Xiao Ya “grain beetles give birth, but their larvae are carried by fruit flies”. Others “welcome cats for their ability to catch field mice and tigers for their ability to catch wild boars”, “spiders spin webs to catch prey, mantis catch cicada with strong arms”, etc., proving ecosystem and food-chain knowledge existed since Spring-Autumn and Warring States periods.“Introduction of Southern Flora” in Jin Dynasty (AD 304) recorded biological control application. “Jiaozhi people sell ants and their nests attached to twigs looking like thin cotton envelopes, the reddish-yellow ant being larger than normal. Without such ants, southern citrus fruits will be severely insect-damaged”.
Biologically-based pest management started a new era after 1949. Aphelinusmali, a hymenopterous wasps were successfully used to manage Eriosomalanigerum, a key pest apples in northern China. China, perhaps one of the major countries, extensively uses Trichogramma spp. against many species of lepidopterous pests, including sugarcane borers, corn borers, rice borers, and cotton pests. China also successfully uses Rodoliarufopilos, and R. cardinalis to manage Iceryaaegyptiaca. In 1980s, a state wide investigation of natural enemy resources was initiated and more than 350 species in agricultural field, including 115 parasitoids, 198 predators, and over 30 predacious mites were discovered, and many have been used as biological control agents. In addition, many research projects have been developed to conserve and utilize these natural enemies Trichogramma are the most utilized natural enemies in China. A total of 16 dominant species have been well-studied, and new techniques are developed to mass-rear-billions of such wasps for wide use in different agroecosystems. These techniques include using big-egg production system, artificial eggs. Large scale release to control maize pests reached 1 - 3 million ha per year in northern China. Recently, due to the outbreak of an invasive species, the sweetpotato whitefly (Bemisiatabaci) mass rearing of Encarsiaspp. and Eretmocerusspp. have been initiated and achieved success. Predatory mites have been extensively researched and mass-reared for management of numerous important pests, including several invasive species (Frankliniellaoccidentalis and Bemisiatabaci) and other native species. With more problems due to the use of pesticides, China is investing more in research to discover more ecologically-, biologically-, and environmentally-friendly and safe techniques to manage major agricultural and horticultural and urban pests.