Model Application of Entomopathogenic Fungi as Alternatives to Chemical Pesticides: Prospects, Challenges, and Insights for Next-Generation Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

In the past few decades, the control of pests and diseases of cultivated plants using natural and biological measures has drawn increasing attention in the quest to reduce the level of dependence on chemical products for agricultural production. The use of living organisms, predators, parasitoids, and microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi, has proven to be a viable and sustainable pest management technique. Among the aforementioned, fungi, most importantly the insect-pathogenic species, have been in use for more than 150years. These include the most popular strains belonging to the genera Beauveria, Metarhizium, Isaria, Hirsutella, and Lecanicillium. Their application is usually through an inundative approach, which inherently involves exposure of the fungal spores to unfavorable humidity, temperature, and solar radiation conditions. These abiotic factors reduce the persistence and efficacy of these insect-pathogenic fungi. Despite these limitations, over 170 strains have been formulated as mycopesticides and are available for commercial use. In the last few decades, numerous studies have suggested that these species of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) offer far more benefits and have broader ecological functions than hitherto presumed. For instance, aside from their roles as insect killers, it has been well established that they also colonize various host plants and, hence, provide other benefits including plant pathogen antagonism and plant growth promotion and serve as sources of novel bioactive compounds and secondary metabolites, etc. In this light, the potential of EPF as alternatives or perhaps as supplements to chemical pesticides in plant protection is discussed in this review. The paper highlights the numerous benefits associated with endophytic fungal entomopathogen and host plant associations, the mechanisms involved in mediating plant defense against pests and pathogens, and the general limitations to the use of EPF in plant protection. A deeper understanding of these plant host-fungus-insect relationships could help unveil the hidden potentials of fungal endophytes, which would consequently increase the level of acceptance and adoption by users as an integral part of pest management programs and as a suitable alternative to chemical inputs toward sustainable crop production.

Acute Oral Toxicity of two Products from a Microbial Pest Control Agent (Beauveria bassiana) on Physiological Status Aspects of Male Albino Rats

“…In comparison to untreated rats, no significant changes in erythrocytes, hemoglobin (Hgb), hematocrit (Hct), or erythrocyte indices (MCV, MCH, and MCHC) were observed in all treated animals. In the exposed male rats with both types of B. bassiana, clinico-biochemical measures of liver function such as aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, AST/ALT ratio, total protein, and albumin (Alb) were higher than in the control group, as shown in table (3). On the other hand, no significant alternations were recorded in ALT activity of treated males.…”

“…The lipid profile analysis of Bb-treated male rats was illustrated in Fig. (3). The data revealed a significant drop in serum total cholesterol and HDL levels in both exposed rats compared to unexposed group whereas, triglyceride and VLDL contents were diminished in treated animals.…”

“…Biological management with entomopathogenic organisms (EPO) such as bacteria, viruses, nematodes, fungi, and protistes agents are most of these techniques [2] . For more than 150 years, many species (EPO) have been used as biological control agents of insect pests [3] in row and glasshouse crops, orchards, ornamentals, range, turf and lawn, stored products, and forestry, as well as for the control of pest and vector insects of veterinary and medical importance [4] .…”

Entomopathogenic Fungi for Pests and Predators Control in Beekeeping

“…However, the use of microbiological control agents remains limited to niche contexts. This is correlated with inconsistencies in their performance, the narrow spectrum of action of the bioinsecticides available, their high specificity and the lack of associated technologies that amplify their effect [20]. Laboratory and field studies on entomopathogenic fungi in beekeeping are contradictory.…”

Editorial: The Potential of Fungi for Enhancing Crops and Forestry Systems

“…In agricultural lands, long-term chemical inputs for the purpose of disease control result in both chronic and acute negative effects, such as environment pollution, human health complications, and spray-resistant pest populations (Aktar et al, 2009 ). For sustainable agriculture, biotechnological products are developed using targeted fungal species (Bamisile et al, 2021 ). Members in the genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Chaetomium, Fusarium, Penicillium, Serendipita, Phoma , and Trichoderma are known as plant growth-promoting fungi, and they have potential to be developed further as biofertilizers (Hyde et al, 2019 ).…”