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73
of immune system. (6) High persistence in the envi-
ronment provides long-term suppression effects of
entomopathogenic fungi on pest.
6 Disadvantages of the fungi as biocontrol
agents
(1) They have very slow killing rate: normally 2
-
3
weeks are required to kill the insects whereas
chemical insecticides may need only 2
-
3 hours. (2) As
the pathogenesis process of the fungi is bioprocess, it
requires specific conditions to be carried out, such as
specific temperature, humidity and period of light. (3)
They have high specificity in killing pests making
them a narrow host killer while a broad range killer
pesticide is required for commercialization, hence
additional control agents are needed for other pests. (4)
Their production is relatively expensive and the short
shelf life of spores necessitates cold storage. (5) The
persistence and efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi in
the host population vary in different insect species,
thus insect-specific application techniques need to be
optimized to retain long-term impacts. (6) They also
present potential risks to immunodepressive people.
Conclusion
Since centuries ago, fungi have always been used for
medicinal and other beneficial proposes and they are
just as important nowadays. In this review, we
summarized the advantages and applications of fungi
as a biopesticides, attempted and collected the know-
ledge about the entomopathogenic fungi as biocontrol
agents. We collected knowledge of the past and
present about entomopathogenic fungi to explore
ways to improve the abilities of entomopathogenic
fungi as a biocontrol agent. In this way, new ideas
and hypothesis will emerge which will farther help
developing the fungi’s capabilities as biocontrol
agents. New techniques will be developed which will
help manage the pest in a better way as the present
pathogenesis mechanism of fungi is slow and needs
improvement. Genetic and proteomic studies are
expected to be the main tools for the future develop-
ment of the entomopathogenic fungi as biocontrol
agents; however, in the near future, there will be
awider array of techniques become available to
biologists which will enable us to take full advantage
of entomopathogenic fungi.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by International Cooperation Fund
(No. 2012DFR30810). We also acknowledge the China
Scholarship Council for the PhD scholarship.
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