Ionizing radiation, using gamma rays and X-rays, can alleviate a number of important constraints to the use of augmentative biological control, such as reducing the cost of production systems for biological control agents, preventing the emergence of adult pest insects from hosts used to mass rear parasitoids – parasites that kill their insect hosts – and assuring the sterility of accompanying pest organisms during their shipment. It is also effectively applied to eliminate the risk of shipping fertile host or prey pests, or other hitchhiking pests.Jointly with the FAO, the IAEA assists Member States in developing and adopting nuclear-based technologies for optimising such biological insect pest management practices, supporting the intensification of crop production and the preservation of natural resources.