The term “biological control” has been used, at times, in a broad context to cover a full spectrum of biological organisms and biologically based products. This has been spectacularly successful in many instances, with a number of pest problems permanently resolved by importation and successful establishment of natural enemies. These importation successes have been limited largely to certain types of ecosystems and/or pest situations such as introduced pests in perennial ecosystems. On the other hand, this approach has met with limited success for major pests of row crops or other ephemeral systems. In these situations, the problem is often not the lack of effective natural enemies but management practices and a lack of concerted research on factors that determine the success or failure of importation attempts in the specific agro-ecosystem setting. Thus, importation programs, to date, are largely a matter of trial and error based on experience of the individual specialists involved.
* perennial: 다년생의 ** ephemeral: 단명하는