Bioinsecticides are microbe or plant extract based insecticide products.
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been the most widely applied and field-tested, topical bioinsecticide. It is a natural spore-forming bacterium that produces a crystal protein in their spores. This protein is toxic for lepidopteran insects like spruce budworm. When larvae ingest Bt, it destroys the lining in their gut, and the insects stop feeding and die within days.
Entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae is the most commonly used fungi for the control of sucking pests in the hemipteran families: Cercopidae, Delphacidae, Lophopidae and Aphididae. Beauveria bassiana, another commonly used Entomopathogenic fungi, controls various hemipterans.
We have potential bacterial (Bacillus thuringiensis) and fungal isolates (e.g. Beauveria bassiana, Lecanicillium and Metarhizium spp.) that can potentially be developed into bioinsecticide inoculants.
