Combination of Chemical and Biological Methods for Effective Plant Protection

Nowadays, one of the most important challenges worldwide is the sufficient cultivation of edible plants and crops due to the rising trend in population growth and food demand. Moreover, it is important to solve this problem by implementing sustainable agriculture which prefers natural protection and tries to minimize the intervention of radical chemicals. It was confirmed recently that some synthetic pesticides are environmental hazards. Since the biological degradation of certain pesticides is slow, their bioaccumulation might cause significant damage to ecosystems, soil, natural waters, etc. Therefore, the idea of protecting crops has been extended and a new concept, “Integrated Pest Management” (IPM), introduced which involves chemical, biological and biotechnological methods together with modern cropping, cultivation and breeding technologies [1] in a way which minimizes any risk of environmental damage. To apply this concept in practice requires comprehensive knowledge of the crops, fitopathogenic microorganisms as well as their enemies, and the behaviour of chemicals (e.g. pesticides) that may be used. A field that has hardly been researched are the so-called entomopathogenic nematodes and bacteria which have been studied in Hungary for a significant period of time [2].