Entomopathogenic Fungi, Isolation, Mass Production and Application

Entomopathogenic fungi have played a uniquely important role in the history of microbial control of insects. Historical evidence indicated that entomopathogenic fungi were the first to be recognized as microbial disease in insects . Beauveria bassiana, commonly known as white muscardine fungus attacks a wide range of immature and adult insects. Metarhizium anisopliae a green muscardine fungus is reported to infect 200 species of insects and arthropods. Both of these entomopathogenic fungi are soil borne and widely distributed. These fungi have been documented to occur naturally in over 750 species of host insects.