Microbial pesticides
*most of the microbial pesticides registered with the EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency) are active against
insect pests and these are termed microbial insecticide
Microbial insecticide
*Single cell organisms such as bacteria,fungi , protozoa
and viruses have been produced and formulated for use
in manner similar to insecticide
*microbial insecticides are biological preparations that
are often sprayed or delivered in ways similar to those of
conventional chemical insecticide
* They are formulated as dusts , liquid concentrates,
wettable powders or granules
* Various formulations gives a product specific properties
to make it most effective
BACTERIA 🦠
*About 90 species of bacteria pathogenic to insect pest
* Of bacteria,the spore forming species have been the
most important in insect suppression
Bacillus thuringiensis -1st discovered in 1902
*Some of the most notable examples are [Link] and
[Link]
Bacillus thuringiensis
*referred as Bt ,is the most widely used biological control
agent in North America
Bt is a spore forming gram positive crystalliferous soil
bacterium
*Produce a toxin or crystal protein (bt protein or cry) that
kill certain insect
*commercially produced World wide using fermentation
technology
*Toxin genes have also been genetically engineered into
crop plants
*Several different strains and subspecies of bt exist and
produce that kill specific insect
*after ingestion the proteinaceous crystal, associated
with a spore in a sporangium , quickly dissolve in the
midgut of susceptible species, causing gut paralysis
* The host larva then May be killed outright by the toxic
crystal or the crystal may enhance the penitration of the
gut by the spores ,which consequently causes a lethal
septicemia
Viruses
Although bacteria have been demonstrated as effective
against many pest species, insect pathologists believe
that viruses also holds much potential for insect
management
*To data , more than 1200 insect/viruses association
have been recorded with the majority of those in the
lepidoptera,hymanoptera and Diptera
The best known viruses of insects are the ,baculoviruses including
nucleopolyhedro viruses (NPV) and granulosis viruses (GV)
NPV viruses have posted more recorded in insect pest
management than any other group
*NPV viruses develop in the host cell nucleus where one or several
virus rod occurs singly or in group encased in an envelope
*the envelope are encased in many sided crystal called
polyhedra
* After ingesting the polyhedra, larva show no outward
symptoms for 4 days to 3 weeks
*At this time larval skin darkens and larvae climb to the
highest point on their host plant,where they die
Dead , blackened larvae may be found hanging from the
tops of the plants
*The integument of those dead larvae rapture and
millions of polyhedra released into the environment
*Such diseases are collectively called caterpillar wilt
Fungi
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Protozoa
*single celled animal
*Some of them parasites and kill insects
*Formulated as baits
*Only one protozoa has been registered as a
biopesticide
*It is Normal locustae
*This is naturally occurring protozoan insect and kill
grasshopper and mormon crickets when these pest ingest
baits containing the pathogen
*When the baits is ingested, protozoa spores become
active,the protozoa grow and replicate in the insect’s
digestive system and the insect soon dies
* The baits is most effective -insect in immature stages
THANK YOU 😊