Status of weed biological control utilizing insects in Korea

It has been only recently that the biological control of weeds by insects was practiced in Korea. Since the diverse crop farming practices in relatively small farms, it has been underestimated by the chemical control practice. The need to find alternative methods from the presence of herbicide-resistant weeds and growing ecological concern requires immediate action to be followed. The Integrated Weed Management Laboratory at the National Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology at the Rural Development Administration was set up to initiate weed biological control research. Since then, four research projects on weed biological control by insects were carried out. The target weed species were as follows: Rumex obtusifolius, Ambrosia trifida, Acalypha australis, and Monochoria vaginalis. In this review, some of the findings both published and unpublished were presented to show the status of the weed biological control by insects in Korea.