7th National Conference on Biological Control

Agricultural policies in India have emphasized adopting biological control as a component of Integrated Pest

Management (IPM) to minimize the indiscriminate and injudicious use of chemical pesticides. Implementation of

biological control at the national level not only scaled down the dependence on pesticide usage but also reduced

pest-induced losses in the country. In addition to catering domestic requirements, the research and development

on biological control in India have extended global support by providing the natural enemies of Indian origin to be

established in other countries for crop pest suppression, thereby becoming a global player in providing clean and

green pest management strategies. The recent advances in AI, IOT, Drones and Genome Editing technologies have

opened the new vistas leading to need based temporal and spatial specific plant protection interventions to ensure

minimized usage of synthetic pesticides. Further such approaches fit intoSDGandGlobal one-health goals.

Tocommemoratethe75th year of India'sindependenceunder the aegis of Azadi KaAmrut Mahotsav and to celebrate

the success of biological control in India past Independence, the 7th National Conference on Biological Control (7th

NCBC2022) on “75 years of Biological control of pests in agriculture: challenges and the way forward” will be held

from15 - 17 December 2022 at Bengaluru. The conference aims to address the developments in biocontrol of crop

insect pests, plant diseases and nematodes and its compatible technologies that have shaped crop protection

strategies in India since its independence. The areas of crop health management through biological control are

addressedunder8themes. Theconferenceintendstoprovidethemuch-requiredplatformtorevisittheexperiences

of biocontrol-based technologies in the past and discuss the recent innovations that shape the clean and green

technologies for pest and disease management. Further, the conference shall facilitate formulation of concepts

employing the cutting-edge technologies to harness the benefits of biological control in future and enable India to

achieve SDG laid by United Nations. The conference will have a conglomeration of personnel from academia and

industry. As there is a shift in interest among the farmers towards use of biocontrol technologies, this conference

would have the participation from the farmers too.