FUNGI AS BIOCONTROL

ON PESTS
Summary by JTPit
FUNGI
• There are about 750 species of fungi
that cause infections in insects and
mites.
• As a group, they attack a wide range
of insect and mite species, but
individual species and strains of fungus
are very specific.
•.
Fungi

• Fungi that cause disease in insects are known

as entomopathogenic fungi.

• An entomopathogenic fungus is a fungus that can act

as a parasite of insects and kills or seriously disables
them.
• The fungi produce spores which infect
their host by germinating on its
surface and then growing into its body.
Death takes between 4 and 10 days,
depending on the type of fungus and
the number of infecting spores. After
death, the fungus produces thousands
of new spores on the dead body, which
disperse and continue their life cycle
on new hosts
EXAMPLES OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI

• Beauveria bassania- against white flies, thrips, aphids and

weevils.

• Paecilomyces fumosoroseus- against

whiteflies, thrips and aphids.

• Metarhizium spp. (against beetles, locusts and

grasshoppers, Hemiptera, spider mites and other pests)

• Lecanicillium spp. - against white flies, thrips and aphids.

• Cordvceps species - includes teleomorphs of the above

genera: that infect a wide spectrum of arthropods.
 Beauveria bassania-
white muscardine disease
Paecilomyces fumosoroseus
Metarhizium spp.
Lecanicillium spp
Cordvceps species
Life cycle of fungi infecting insects
ADVANTAGES

• They generally do not affect people or other

mammals, making them extremely safe to use.

• easy to mass produce .

• successful infections can spread to other

hosts and lead to high rates of
persistence (continued or prolonged
existence).
DISADVANTAGES
• High concentrations of spores are often needed to get
adequate control of pests in a crop.

• The kill time is relatively long (~1 week for most fungi).

• Environmental factors can also play an important role

in the success of fungi.
1. Prolonged exposure to sunlight can also inactivate
spores, reducing persistence in the crop
2. Moist conditions or high relative humidity in the canopy
of the crop are often necessary for control to be
effective
APPLICATION
• Do not apply fungal products during droughts or dry spells
since the environmental conditions will decrease their
effectiveness.

• Do not apply fungal products during the heat of the day since
this will diminish the potency of the spores

• Do not apply on rainy days, when spores will be washed off of

plant surfaces and may not come into contact with the target
pest.

• Use cropping practices which encourage a diverse understory

and soil surface, such as cover cropping or conservation tillage.