ASSIGNMENT

ON:
ADVANTAGES AND LIMITATIONS OF
BIOFERTILIZERS AND BIOLOGICAL
CONTROL.
SUBMITTED TO:
HADIA GUL

MADAM

SUBMITTED BY:

NASIR ALI

ROLL NO:

16/179

SEMESTER:
SESSION:
13
DATE:

7TH
2009Feb 20,2013.

GOMAL CENTER OF BIOCHEMISTRY

AND BIOTECHNOLOGY

GOMAL UNIVERSITY D.I.KHAN.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Biofertilizers:
1. Sustainability:
Biofertilizers increase the Nitrogen and Phosphorus available to plants
more naturally than other fertilizers. Biofertilizers do not pollute the soil
or the environment, whereas chemical fertilizers often result in too much
phosphate and nitrogen in the soil. The excess then leaches into lakes and
streams through runoff. Waters decline in quality and suffer from
overgrowth of algae and the death of fish.

2. Affordability:
Biofertilizers reduce dependence upon expensive petroleum sources of
chemical fertilizers. According to the "Journal of Phytology," demand for
chemical fertilizers will exceed the supply by more than 7 million tons by
2020. The shortage of fossil fuels to produce chemical fertilizers may drive
up prices beyond the reach of small users. Biofertilizers are a cheap, easyto-use alternative to manufactured petrochemical products.

3. Improved Soil:
Biofertilizers restore normal fertility to the soil and make it biologically
alive. They boost the amount of organic matter and improve soil texture
and structure. The enhanced soil holds water better than before.
Biofertilizers add valuable nutrients to the soil, especially nitrogen,
proteins and vitamins. They take nitrogen from the atmosphere and
phosphates from the soil and turn them into forms that plants can use.

4. Improved Plants:
Biofertilizers increase yield by up to 30 percent because of the nitrogen
and phosphorus they add to the soil. The improvement in soil texture and
quality helps plants grow better during periods of drought. Biofertilizers
help plants develop stronger root systems and grow better.

Disadvantages:

 Biofertilizers require special care for long-term storage because they

are alive. They must be used before their expiration date. The soil
must contain adequate nutrients for biofertilizer organisms to thrive
and work.
Requires a different type of machine to apply than chemical
fertilizers
Difficulty to store: theyre sensitive to temperature and humidity
changes.
sometimes hard to locate/purchase in faraway rural areas.
Biofertilizers lose their effectiveness if the soil is too hot or dry.
Excessively acidic or alkaline soils also hamper successful growth of
the beneficial microorganisms; moreover, they are less effective if
the soil contains an excess of their natural microbiological enemies.

Biological Control:
Biological control is the use of a pest's natural enemies to control its
population and spread. The pest may be an insect, weed, or other
organism that injures other, beneficial organisms.( Any unwanted and
destructive insect or other animal that attacks food or crops or livestock).
Kudzu, for instance, is an invasive plant in the United States that rapidly
covers large areas and chokes out native plants; goats that eat the kudzu
have been used as a biological control agent to stop its spread and clear
land that the weed has overtaken. Biological control is one method of
preventing pests from causing economic or environmental damage.

Advantages:
In most cases, biological control agents are pest-specific and greatly
prefer to feed on the target organism, leaving non-pest organisms
undisturbed. Once a biological control program is underway, the field
aspects of the program are inexpensive compared to other control
methods and require little human effort; the biological control agents can
sustain themselves and spread on their own.

Environmental:
Biological pest control creates no chemical run-off in waterways or soil
pollution. The people using biological controls don't have to worry about
the health effects of handling lady beetles, lace wings and other biological
control agents, as opposed to the health risks of working with pesticides.
Organic farmers can use biological controls without fear of losing their
organic certification.

Targeted:
Biological pest control targets a narrow range of pests, sometimes even a
single species. Other, beneficial insects, birds, reptiles and animals living
in the area remain unharmed. Pesticides may kill everything in their path,
and effect species outside the targeted pest, such as happened when DDT
used to kill mosquitoes and other pests threatened to wipe out birds such
as the peregrine falcon.

Sustainable:
Successfully established biological control species will maintain stable
populations for generations without need for additional investment by
humans. Chemical controls, however, must be applied each season,
sometimes multiple times a season. This adds to both the environmental
and monetary costs of using chemical pest controls.

Disadvantages:
Biological control agents usually only affect their target organism, but
there is a chance that the biological control agent may feed on a
beneficial organism and may even prefer it over the pest, rendering the
program ineffective. While biological control programs are inexpensive
to run once they are established, laying the groundwork for the
program may be costly; scientists must put time and funding into
researching biological control agents, how they work and how they will
affect the environment. Also, not all pests can be controlled by
biological agents, or a pest may be so similar to a native or beneficial
plant or insect that the risk of introducing the control agent outweighs
any benefits. Finally, biological control does not eliminate the entire
pest population.
It's a slow process. It takes a lot of time and patience for the biological
agents to work their magic on a pest population, whereas other
methods like pesticides work provide immediate results. The upside to
this is the long-term effect biological control provides.
If you're looking to completely wipe out a pest, biological control is not
the right choice. Predators can only survive if there is something to
eat, so destroying their food population would risk their own safety.
Therefore, they can only reduce the number of harmful pests.