BIOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT OF MAJOR VEGETABLE INSECT PESTS WITH MICROORGANISMS FOR FOOD SAFETY AND SECURITY

Abstract

The most devastating obstacles to global agriculture are insect pests. Under the effect of shifting climatic circumstances, the extent of damage rises continuously. Due to insect pest outbreaks in crops, which are the main source of international trade, the developing countries suffer more. Vegetables that are consumed domestically and exported to other nations are largely produced in India. But because they are the root of many epidemics, insect pests create a significant threat to production and productivity. In order to rapidly eliminate these insect pests, chemical pesticides are being applied. However, overuse of these chemical pesticides frequently resulted in environmental degradation, population growth, pesticide residual issues in the soil and water, and bug resistance to these chemicals. Target specificity, self-perpetuation, and environmental safety make biological control highly regarded. Various microscopic parasitic organisms that infect insects are mostly used in biological pest management. These include bacteria like Bacillus thuringiensis and B. papillae, viruses like Nuclear polyhedrosis virus and Granulosis virus, fungus like Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae, Lecanicillium (=Verticillium) lecanii and Nomuraearileyi, or worms like Steinernema. This chapter describes the importance of these organisms in the management of the insect pests of the tomato, brinjal, okra, and cole crops.