Biological control chance and limitation within integrated pest management program in Afghanistan

Abstract Integrated pest management (IPM) has recognized as a sustainable method for pest prevention, monitoring, and control. The purpose of this review article focused on biological control potential and challenges in Afghanistan. Biological control is beginning to increase in Afghanistan, in large part due to the establishment of graduate studies in entomology in 2008. Afghan farmers have restricted knowledge about agrochemicals and mostly use a few conventional chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The development and registration of biological agents as an alternative is a more recent movement. Only a single parasitoid agent and three microbial products were registered or pending registration for commercial use on various crops. Products based on Trichogramma brassicae (Bezdenko 1968) for lepidopteran pests, Trichoderma viride against soil-borne pathogens including Rhizoctonia solani, Macrophomina phaseolina, and Fusarium species are most widely spread. Also, T. viride, Cydia pomonella granulovirus, and Helicoverpa zea nucleopolyhedrovirus registered in 2015. Pesticide registration is the responsibility of the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock, with the assistance of the Pesticides Division of Plant Protection and Quarantine Department in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health. The pesticide management board of the National Environmental Protection Agency has not yet signed the membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) or the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). Currently, only one foreign company, the National Horticulture and Livestock Project (NHLP), produces microbial pesticides. However, it promised that two more other companies, the Center for Agricultural Bioscience International and the Afghanistan Agriculture Inputs Projects, will start production shortly. This is a review of the brief history of biological control of pests, with a view on current challenges of pest control practices as well the status of the market and the registration procedures for biocontrol agents, along with challenges and opportunities for the development of biocontrol in Afghanistan.