Jamaica has beefed up its pest control management systems with the launch of a new Biological Control Laboratory at the Agriculture Ministry’s Bodles Research Station in St Catherine.

The lab will strengthen the island’s pest control measures while at the same time helping to protect the environment. The new facility will focus on the use of biological control agents to kill pests that can harm plants.

Left unchecked, pests can cause considerable damage and revenue loss to the agriculture sector. Biological control involves introducing a natural enemy into the environment of a pest, such as a parasite, predator, or disease/viral organism.

If the natural enemy is already present in the environment, it is encouraged to multiply and become more effective in reducing the number of pest organisms. Acting principal research director for the Research and Development (R&D) Division in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Michelle Sherwood explained the lab will focus on the use of biological control agents to kill pests that can harm plants.

These include wasps, the ladybird beetle and other insects, which farmers have been using and these bio-control agents can also have positive implications for the environment.

Lab geared towards harnessing biocontrol agents

Sherwood posited, “with this lab, we’re now able to harness from our natural environment, those biocontrol agents, which we now can collect for research…The lab will provide the Agriculture Ministry with the environment to be able to multiply and release them as an additional tool to the farmers.”

She argued that the use of bio-control agents is environmentally friendly and is also highly effective in the management of pests in our agricultural sector. Meanwhile, a greenhouse was also built at Bodles to produce citrus fruit seedlings under the Clean Seed Development Programme.

The programme operates under the 2019 National Seed Policy, which aims to increase the island’s ability to produce all the planting material needed for the entire agriculture sector. The vision of the policy is to establish a sustainable seed system that ensures a consistent and reliable supply of clean, affordable, and accessible seeds, in support of agricultural production, productivity, food security and biodiversity.

Speaking with JIS News, Sherwood stated, “with this new facility we are now able to produce clean seeds for the citrus industry, which has been negatively impacted by citrus greening disease. This helps us to supply our nurseries through the citrus unit out of the plant quarantine facility.”

Citrus greening, also known as Huanglongbing (HLB), or yellow dragon disease is one of the most serious citrus plant diseases in the world. Once a tree is infected, there is no cure. While the disease poses no threat to humans or animals, it has devastated millions of acres of citrus crop worldwide.

Infected trees produce fruits that are green, misshapen and bitter, making them unsuitable for sale as fresh fruit or for juice. Most infected trees die within a few years.

Sherwood said with the new greenhouse, clean plant material can be re-entered into the sector. Currently, the ministry is involved with a project with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), where it is producing limes and lemons.