Pest Control
Since they are considered natural mortality agents and environmentally safe, there is worldwide interest in the use and manipulation of entomopathogenic fungi for biological control of insects and other arthropod pests. In particular, the asexual phases of Ascomycota (Beauveria spp., Lecanicillium spp., Metarhizium spp., Paecilomyces spp. and others) are under intense scrutiny due to the traits favouring their use as biological insecticides.
Production. Most entomopathogenic fungi can be grown on artificial media. However, some require extremely complex media; others, like Beauveria bassiana and exploitable species in the genus Metarhizium, can be grown on starch-rich substrates like cereal grains (rice, wheat).
Virulence. The Entomophthorales are often reported as causing high levels of mortality (epizootics) in nature. These fungi are highly virulent. The anamorphic Ascomycota (Metarhizium, Beauveria etc.) are reported as causing epizootics less frequently in nature.
Also important are their properties regarding specificity (host range), storage, formulation, and application.
See the desert locust page for more on use of Metarhizium as a biological insecticide.
Read more about this topic: Entomopathogenic Fungus
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