ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI OF Fusarium: POTENTIAL FOR THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF INSECTS

Abstract

Insects cause multiple losses in agricultural production by inflicting direct or indirect damage and transmitting plant diseases, which is manifested in a reduced quality and crop yield. With the application of chemical insecticides, being most common in conventional agriculture, the effort is invested to find the appropriate alternative ways to control the pests that are environmentally friendly. One such method is a biological insect control by entomopathogenic fungi that have proven to be extremely effective in controlling many insect species from multiple genera. The aim of this study was to determine the possibilities of insect control by entomopathogenic fungi of the genus Fusarium and to show their potential in various forms of application, from a seed treatment, insect specimens, or storage areas. Numerous Fusarium sp. have demonstrated a high insect control efficiency at all stages of their development and are thus suitable for further research.