Locust plague and its present situation after the application of green control technology in grasslands of Inner Mongolia

Grassland forms the main body of the land ecosystem and plays a pivotal role in the maintenance of the national ecological environment. Locust plagues commonly occur in Inner Mongolia grasslands and have caused serious damages to the grassland vegetation. In order to reduce losses, we analysed and summarised locust plagues and suggested strategies for the application of green control technologies on grasslands from 2006 to 2015. Accordingly, the locust plagues have decreased for six years from 2010 to 2015 in Inner Mongolia. Presently, locust plagues occur only as spots or slices of mid-density or low-density. The control effects by using Nosema locustae, Metarhizium acridum, Bacillus thuringiensis, azadirachtin, matrine, nicotine·matrine, herding chicken and duck, release of natural enemies of locusts, and ecological management have been excellent. The green control technologies have been refined, and the basic control strategies have been decided. Over the past few decades, the cumulative application areas using the green control technologies have increased to 7.333 million hectares. The application green control technologies has reduced the pasture direct economic benefit loss of 990 million CNY from 2006 to 2015 and resulted in remarkable ecological, economic, and social benefits. In order to resolve problems with production and achieve green and sustainable control, capital input must be increased, early warming system must be perfected, biological control needs to be strengthened, and additional scientific research must be reinforced.