News on Reviews

The abstracts, news and reviews that make up Biocontrol News and Information (BNI) provide biocontrol and integrated pest management (IPM) researchers and practitioners with a unique information resource, which we strive constantly to improve. Our abstracts provide unrivalled coverage of literature on the use of biotic agents in the control of pests of all types, and over the recent years, we have developed the news section to provide an information source and stimulate debate on important biocontrol and biocontrol-related topics. The news is posted free on the Internet [http://pest.cabweb.org/Journals/BNI/news.asp] both to increase awareness of the journal and to canvas as wide a range of opinion as possible. The tremendous response the news section has generated is due in no small part to the many contributors, to whom we would like to extend our thanks.

We now want to focus equal energy on the review section. We are delighted with the high standard of the manuscripts we receive, and we want to capitalize on this, and develop the size and scope of the section. We are, therefore, pleased to invite you to submit original and substantial reviews or studies of important problems or issues in biological control (we do not publish reviews that are purely bibliog-raphic in nature, nor those that simply catalogue natural enemies).

Reviews on the 'history of' and 'prospects for' biocontrol remain the cornerstone of our review section. We encourage authoritative reviews for major pests of all kinds to provide key reference resources, and, for example, we are currently developing reviews on a number of weed and insect pests of worldwide significance. Often such pests are invasive alien species, an issue that is climbing ever-higher on the global agenda. Understanding the nature of a pest outbreak is fundamental to designing an effective solution, be it prevention, eradication, containment, management or mitigation. Reviews of the taxonomy, biology and ecology (and, where appropriate, behaviour) of pest species (and their natural enemies) can set the framework and context in which appropriate biocontrol technologies can be designed and implemented, whether as stand-alone solutions or in combination with other technologies.

Country-based reviews are also valuable, and we actively solicit these in order to make the information more widely available. Valuable results from many countries' biocontrol programmes are available in 'grey' literature and national publications, and these can be usefully synthesized to make the knowledge accessible to a worldwide audience. We may publish case studies, if these are of regional or international significance and form resources for other countries facing similar pest problems.

One of the great challenges is to understand constraints to uptake of biological control solutions, and thence overcome them. We are particularly interested in publishing more about extension and implementation of biological control. In this context, we welcome reviews on methodology, especially where these point to ways of increasing biocontrol adoption rates, and the commercial development of biocontrol agents and technologies. Mass rearing/production, marketing/distribution, and farmer knowledge support, are all areas presently targeted to improve the sustainability of biological control.

Safety of biocontrol, and particularly classical biocontrol, is a key issue - and a hot news topic for a much wider audience. Partly because of the current high profile, many stakeholders, from researchers to national governments, need urgent help in the form of good information and sound guidance in this arena. Quality reviews on biocontrol safety issues including host-range testing, risk assessment, nontarget impacts, monitoring and evaluation, and the development of guidelines, regulations and policy are therefore invaluable.

The days of belief in 'silver bullets' are behind us. Biocontrol may sometimes provide a complete solution to a pest problem, but more often a combination of approaches is needed. We are interested in reviews on the integration of biological control with other compatible techniques, including case studies of major significance. Interactions between biocontrol agents also elicit much interest (and particularly how microbial and macrobial agents interact). On a wider note, we like to include reviews on the role of biocontrol in the sustainability of natural and agricultural ecosystems; included in this is smallholder farming, and the opportunities for bio-control to improve food security, and contribute to financially and environ-mentally sound commodity crops.

We will not shy away from controversial issues. We will tackle such topics as bio-technology, either as a tool in developing improved or new biocontrol technologies, or its potential to complement biocontrol in an integrated approach. We will also address the shortcomings of biocontrol and its implementation. If you are hot under your collar over an issue in biological control and can review it in an authoritative way that will advance either the science or the practice of biocontrol, we will be interested.

We plan to build on the ideas above to bring you an informative review section. Over coming issues, for example, we will have a series of reviews on biocontrol in agro-forestry systems. These will address many of the cross-cutting themes outlined above including the role of biocontrol in invasive species management, its role as part of integrated crop management (ICM), and initiatives for promoting farmer uptake of biocontrol.

Today, more than ever, there is a need for information dissemination: between researchers, between researchers and extension workers, between extension workers and farmers, and between researchers and farmers. All have a great deal to share as well as a great deal to learn. Much of value is known but not synthesized into usable knowledge. BNI has a role in filling this gap, so if you have an idea for a review, or want to suggest a topic for us to develop, let us know.

And now to the news, which this issue contains large chunks of potato. We begin, though, with a classical success story, and a new biopesticide.