Locusts (Grasshopper) belong to the order Orthoptera, and locusts will cause different degrees of damages to agriculture, forestry, and animal husbandry. Once disasters happen, grain particles will be lost, and large number of economic losses will occur. The most commonly used control for locusts is chemical pesticides.
The worst locust plague in 20 years is affecting eastern Africa and parts of Asia. The current locust plague, which is reported to have started in the vicinity of the Red Sea and spread westward stoking to East Africa.
It’s engulfing crops in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, and many other countries. India and Pakistan, two political foes, have been forced to join forces against locusts.
Main means to control the locust plague
The pest control of locusts is generally divided into chemical control and biological control, in which chemical control is the primary means of locust control because of its rapid effect and low cost.
But long-term dependence on chemical spraying, locust resistance has gradually increased, more and more difficult to kill, the environment will also cause great harm. In the promotion of green agriculture today, people pay more and more attention to the ecological environment. To promote the treatment of locusts should adopt green, safe, environmentally friendly biological control methods.
| Prevention Method | Chemical Control | Biological Control |
| Products | Dichlorvos, Phoxim, Trichlorfon, Regent, Malathion | Beauveria and Metarhizium |
| Advantages | Quick Effect | Green safety, Environmentally friendly, No pesticide residue |
| Disadvantages | Polluted environment, | Short shelf life， High production cost， Low acceptance |
Advantages of Biological Control for Locust
1. Wide range of hosts and broad application prospects;
2. Safe for humans, animals and the environment, harmless to natural enemies of insects and beneficial organisms;
3, Long-lasting effect can achieve years of spread, popular control;
4, The dosage form is simple, and the application is convenient.
Biocontrol-Metarhizium Anisopliae
Metarhizium anisotrophic fungi. Once the locust comes into contact with Metarhizium anisopliae, the fungal structure can penetrate the locust’s body wall, enter the locust, use the locust nutrition to reproduce and secrete toxins, and make the locust sick and die within 5-12 days.
After the death of the locust, a zombie will be formed. A large number of spores will be stored in the body. Locust’s body wall plays a protective role. When the body wall is weathered by the sun or damaged by external forces, the spores can become the source of infection again. Foreign experiments have proven that the effect of locust control can last for 5 years after one application.
Biocontrol-Beauveria Bassiana
Beauveria bassiana is an entomogenous fungus of the semi-knowledge type. Once locusts come into contact, they multiply in the body, and at the same time, they continuously produce crystals of berberine and calcium oxalate.
These substances can cause insect poisoning, change the function of fluid body discovery, disrupt metabolism, and cause death. The mycelium penetrates the surface of the body, producing white powdery conidia, which makes the pests appear white and dead.