Microbial Control of Pests: Entomopathogenic Fungi as Mycoinsecticides

Within the frame of this ISCB project, a biological approach based on the introduction of specific fungi that are highly pathogenic for Helicoverpa, will be developed to control the dreaded pests. Biological control using insectpathogenic fungi as mycoinsecticides is an appealing alternative to the application of chemicals. Entomophthoralean fungi can easily be massproduced on cheap substrates. They cause lethal infections to their hosts but are harmless for the users as well as for the environment. Moreover, as they are highly host specific, they are not risky for non-target or even beneficial insects. The only difficulty which could jeopardise the successful application of insect-pathogenic fungi for biocontrol in India might be their dependence on humidity. However, hopefully we will be able to tackle this problem with the development of an appropriate product formulation.