II. SDA variceal

Sustainable agriculture not only aims at increas-ing the yield of food and fi bre crops but also reducing the incidence of pests and diseases to subeconomic levels to meet the growing food demand of the population which is not going to stabilise by 2035 and would be around 8.6 billion in 2035. At present all agriculturally productive land is producing food; however, there is a demand for further escalation of the agricultural production to meet the global food demand.

Thus, reducing crop losses in agriculture both at preharvest and postharvest levels would signifi -cantly help in meeting the growing food demand.

These crop losses are attributed to pests (weeds, plant pathogens, insects and rodents). A variety of chemicals were brought into use in early 1940s to suppress these pests to subeconomic levels.

However, to meet the ever increasing demands for food, these chemicals were indiscriminately used leading to hazardous side effects to millions of people due to their persistence in the food as well as were responsible for deterioration of the environment. The residual toxicity of synthetic agrochemicals had effect on nontarget organ-isms. Further overuse of these agrochemicals has led to the development of resistance in the pests.

It has been reported that over 447 species of mites, 200 species of plant pathogens and over 49 species of weeds have become resistant to one or more than one agrochemical. Thus, there is a societal concern regarding further use of these chemical pesticides.

4.3 Biopesticides

42

There is a need to develop alternate strategies for pest management by development of new environmentally and toxicologically benign products to replace these synthetic chemicals.

Currently research groups while designing pesti-cides have a complex set of questions: ‘What form should the crop protection agent take so that it causes no harm to the end user, can be distrib-uted in water, can be sprayed without diffi culty, takes effect against the pest in crops in lowest possible concentration and in the process cause as little burden to the environment as possible?’

Recently there has been upsurge in explora-tion and exploitaexplora-tion of naturally occurring microorganisms to control crop pests, weeds and diseases. The concept behind this strategy is bio-logical control which can be defi ned as ‘direct and purposeful manipulation of natural enemies to increase pest competition (in whole or in part) or resource requirements by these organisms for the reduction of negative pest effects or pest spe-cies density to levels at or below economic thresholds’. There are two broad groups of bio-logical control: classical and innundative.

4.3.1 Bio-weedicides

4.3.1.1 Classical Biological Control

This approach establishes new natural enemies in a region for the eradication of the pest. This is generally adopted for controlling exotic pest which have become problematic due to absence of their natural enemies. Hence, the biological control agents (BCAs) are explored from the original geographic range of the pest. The prom-ising BCAs are screened for their potential to be introduced to the new region with the expectation that the organism would provide pest suppression without complete eradication. The outstanding example of this approach has been the develop-ment of the fungus Puccinnia chondrillina for the control of Chondrilla juncea (skeleton weed).

Puccinia is a rust fungus found in Mediterranean and tested on several crop plants as well as mem-bers of Asteraceae, which were closely related to the skeleton weed. The fungus was closely related to skeleton weed, and fi nally the fi rst strain of this fungus was released in Australia, capable of

suppressing the skeleton weed (Hasan 1988 ).

Puccinia chondrillina also proved to be effective in the control of skeleton weed when released in western USA (Suopkoff et al. 1988 ). The other examples of classical biological control agents are smut fungus Entyloma ageratinae imported from Jamaica to control Hamakua pamakani ( Ageratina riparia , Asteraceae family) in Hawaiian forests and rangelands, and Uromycladium tepperianum has been used to control the invasive tree Acacia saligna in South Africa (Morris 1997 ). However, the major con-cern is the cost of importing the microorganism and its safety aspects when released in a new geographical region as it may also effect other nontarget plants or benefi cial plants leading to huge economic losses.

4.3.1.2 Innundative or Bioherbicidal Approach

This approach involves exploration and use of natural enemies from the region of eradication of the pest by repeated release so as to temporarily boost their abundance and hence also referred as the augmentative approach. This approach gained importance with commercial development of DeVine ^® wherein chlamydospores of the patho-gen Phytophthora palmivora were applied as a liquid suspension to control the weed Morrenia odorata in the citrus orchards of Florida (Kenney 1986 ). The formulation suppressed 96 % weed population within 10 weeks. Since then many bacteria and fungi have been formulated into bioherbicides and have been registered for commercial applications (Table 4.3 ).

Chondrostereum purpureum (Pers. Ex fr) is a wood-rotting basidiomycete which has been formulated under the trade name Biochon in Netherlands for control of invasive North American Prunus and Populus spp. in natural and commercial forests. Native isolates of C. purpu-reum from Canada have been developed for stump treatment of hardy wood plants like red alder, red maple, aspen and birch and were regis-tered as CHONTROL™ and MYCOTECH™

PASTE. This example exhibits the exploitation of indigenous microfl ora for exploitation in different geographical regions. A variety of bacterial as well as fungal isolates are under evaluation for

4 Agricultural Applications of Microbes

43

their possible commercialisation as bioherbicide.

Phoma macrostoma is being developed for com-mercialisation by the Scott Miracle Gro Company, Canada, for the biological control of Canada this-tle. The fungus has been provisionally registered with the pesticide regulatory authority (PMRA) in June 2011 in Canada. A new facet which has fascinated the plant pathologists, microbiologists and crop protection specialists is exploitation of deleterious rhizobacteria (DRB). DRB colonise in plant roots; they are nonparasitic and generally possess the growth suppressing activity. The association of DRB with weeds was fi rst discov-ered in downy brome ( Bromus tectorum ). More than 2,000 isolates of Rhizobacteria obtained from the prairie soils in Canada are being investi-gated for their potential as a bioherbicide (Boyetchko 1999 ). Like fungi, DRBs are also applied innundatively in the soil prior to the emergence of weed. The method does not

eradi-cate but reduces their competitive ability.

Pseudomonas trivalis X33D is a promising biocontrol agent against great brome ( Bromus diandrus ) in durum wheat. This strain when formulated reduced the growth of brome and increased the growth of wheat (Mejri et al. 2013 )

4.3.2 Bioinsecticides

To control insects which cause crop losses, ento-mopathogenic fungi has been employed as bio-logical control agents using the innundative approach. Some entomopathogenic fungi formu-lated into mycoinsecticides are Beauveria bassi-ana , Verticillium lecanii , Nomurea rileyi and Lagenidium giganteum (Table 4.4 ). Beauveria bassiana commonly inhabits the soil and has a broad host range including beetle and fi re ants.

Nomurea rileyi is being developed for the control

Table 4.3 Commercially registered bioherbicides

Biological control agent Commercial name Target weed

Company/country where used Phytophthora palmivora DeVine ^® Morrenia odorata USA (1981) Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

f. sp. aeschynomene

COLLEGO ^® Northern Jointvetch Encore Technologies USA (1982)

Alternaria cassia CASST™ Sickle pod and coffee

senna ( Cassia sp.)

USA (1983) Cercospora rodmanii ABG-5003 Water hyacinth ( Eicchornia

crassipes )

USA (1991)

Colletotrichum gloeosporioides f. sp. malvae

BIOMAL ^® Malva pusilla USA (1992)

Cylindrobasidium leave STUMPTOUT™ Acacia species South Africa (1997) Chondrostereum purpureum BIOCHON™ Woody weeds like

Prunus serotina

Netherlands (1997) Xanthomonas campestris

pv poae

COMPERICO™ Poa annua (Turf grass in golf courses)

Japan (1997)

Colletotrichum acutatum HAKATAK Hakea gummosis and H. sericea

South Africa (1999)

Puccinia thlaspeos WOAD WARRIOR Dyer’s woad ( Isastis tinctoria ) in farms, rangeland, waste areas and roadsides

USA (2002)

Chondrostereum purpureum CHONTROL™

ECOCLEAR™

Alders, aspen and other hard-woods

Canada (2004)

Chondrostereum purpureum MYCOTECH™ PASTE Deciduous tree species in rights of way and forests

Canada (2004)

Alternaria destruens SMOLDER™ Cuscuta USA (2005)

Sclerotinia minor SARRITOR ^® Dandelion ( Taraxacum offi cinale ) in lawns/turf

Canada (2007) 4.3 Biopesticides

44

Table 4.4 Fungal biocontrol agents used as a registered bioinsecticides Biological control agent Commercial name Target pest Company/country where used Sporothrix insectorum Sporothrix ES Hemiptera Biocarto Ind. Com Prod. Agrop. Ltda., Brazil Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum Green Muscle OF Orthoptera Biological Control Prod. SA(Pty) Ltd., South Africa Green Guard ULV Green Guard SC Metarhizium anisopliae Granment-P Coleoptera Kwizda Agro GmbH, Austria BIO 10210 Coleoptera (Curculionidae) Intrachem Bio SA, Italy Metarhizium Schweizer Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae) Eric Schweizer Samen AG, Switzerland Bio-Magic Coleoptera, Hemiptera and other plant hopper T. Stanes & Company Limited, India Bio-Blast Biological Termiticide Isoptera (Kalotermitidae, Rhinotermitidae, Termopsidae) EcoScience Corporation, USA Taenure Granular Bioinsecticide Coleoptera (Curculionidae, Scarabaeidae), Diptera (Ephydridae, Mycetophilidae, Sciaridae, Tipulidae) Novozymes Biologicals Inc., USA (previously: Earth BioSciences Inc., CT, USA; Taensa Co., USA) Tick-EX EC Acari (Ixodidae) + Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae) Novozymes Biologicals Inc., USA (previously: Earth BioSciences; Taensa Co., USA) Metadieca Hemiptera (Cercopidae) Liga Agricola Industrial de LaCan˜a de Azucar (LAICA), Costa Rica Lecanicillium species ( V. lecanii ) Trichovent Trichodex S A, Spain MicroGermin Plus Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae, Aphididae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) + Acari (Tetranychidae) Omya (Schweiz) AG, Switzerland Bio-Catch Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae, Aphididae, Pseudococcidae) T. Stanes & Company Limited, India Biovert Rich ‘Insects’ + Nematoda Plantrich Chemicals & Biofertilizers Ltd, India Verti-Sin Hemiptera (Aphididae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) Agrobiologicos del Noroeste S.A. de C.V. (Agrobionsa), Mexico Lecanicillium muscarium Mycotal Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) Koppert Biological Systems, Netherlands (previously: Tate and Lyle, UK) Lecanicillium longisporum Vertalec Hemiptera (Aphididae) Vertirril WP 1300 Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae, Ortheziidae) Itaforte Industrial de BioProdutos Agro-Florestais Ltda., Brazil Lagenidium giganteum Laginex AS Diptera (Culicidae) AgraQuest, USA (now Bayer CropScience) Isaria sp. ( formerly Paecilomyces sp.) PaciHit Rich Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) + Nematoda Plantrich Chemicals & Biofertilizers Ltd, India 4 Agricultural Applications of Microbes

45

Isaria fumosorosea PreFeRal Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae) Biobest n.v., Belgium Priority Acari (Eriophyidae, Tetranychidae) T.Stanes & Company Limited, India PFR-97 20 % WDG Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae, Aphididae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) + Acari (Tetranychidae) Certis, Inc., USA (previous owner: Thermo Trilogy Corp., USA) Successor Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae, Aphididae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) + Acari (Tetranychidae) Live Systems Technology S.A., Colombia Conidiobolus thromboides Vektor 25 SL Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae, Ortheziidae) Laverlam S.A., Colombia Beauveria brongniartii Melocont-Pilzgerste Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae) Kwizda Agro GmbH, Austria/Agrifutur s.r.l., Italy Myzel Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae) LBBZ Arenenberg, Switzerland Beauveria Schweizer Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae) Eric Schweizer Samen AG, Switzerland Betel Coleoptera (Scarabaeidae) Betel Reunion S.A., Reunion Island (subsidiary of Natural Plant Protection, France) BiolisaKamikiri Coleoptera (Cerambycidae) Nitto Denko, Japan Beauveria bassiana Trichobass-L/P Coleoptera (Curculionidae, Scarabaeidae), Lepidoptera (Castniidae, Pieridae), Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) + Acari (Tetranychidae)

Trichodex S.A., Spain Bb Plus Hemiptera (Aphididae) + Acari (Tetranychidae) Biological Control Products SA (Pty) Ltd, South Africa Bb Weevil Coleoptera (Curculionidae) BioGuard Rich Coleoptera (Curculionidae, Scarabaeidae), Hemiptera (Aleyrodidae, Aphididae), Lepidoptera (Crambidae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) Plantrich Chemicals & Biofertilizers Ltd, India Bio-Power Coleoptera (Curculionidae, Scarabaeidae), Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha (Cicadellidae, Delphacidae), Lepidoptera (Plutellidae)

T.Stanes & Company Limited, India BotaniGard ES Coleoptera (Curculionidae, Scarabaeidae), Hemiptera (Miridae, Aleyrodidae, Aphididae, Pseudococcidae, Psyllidae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae)

Laverlam International Corporation, USA (previously: Emerald BioAgriculture Corp., USA; Mycotech Corp., USA) Mycotrol ES Coleoptera (Chrysomelidae, Curculionidae, Scarabaeidae), Hemiptera (Miridae, Cicadellidae, Fulgoridae, Aleyrodidae, Aphididae, Pseudococcidae, Psyllidae), Lepidoptera (Crambidae), Orthoptera (Acrididae, Tettigoniidae), Thysanoptera (Thripidae) Laverlam International Corporation, USA (previously: Emerald BioAgriculture Corp. USA; Mycotech Corp., USA) Brocaril 50 WP Coleoptera (Curculionidae) Laverlam S.A., Colombia Nativo 2 SC Coleoptera (Curculionidae) Bayer Cropscience S.A., Colombia 4.3 Biopesticides

46

of caterpillars in soyabean plantations, and Laginex is the antimosquito formulation of the fungus Lagenidium giganteum being manufac-tured and marketed by AgraQuest USA (now acquired by Bayer CropScience, USA).

Apart from fungi, bacteria also are found to possess insecticidal properties which could be used for the development of strategies to intro-duce insect resistance to plants. Bacillus thuring-iensis (abbreviated as Bt) is the best known and most widely used insecticides formulated from Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki isolates that are pathogenic and toxic only to larvae of the but-terfl ies and moths. Most of the Bt products that have been registered with the United States Environmental Protection Agency are Dipel ^® , Javelin ^® , Thuricide ^® , Worm Attack ^® , Caterpillar Killer ^® , Bactospeine ^® and SOK-Bt ^® . These prod-ucts are used to control many common leaf- feeding caterpillars, including caterpillar pests on vegetables, bagworms and tent caterpillars on trees and shrubs, larvae of the gypsy moth and other forest caterpillars. One product with a very specifi c target is Certan ^®, formulated from Bacillus thuringiensis var. aizawai and used exclusively for the control of wax moth larvae in honeybee hives. Vectobac ^® , Teknar ^® , Bactimos ^® , Skeetal ^® and Mosquito Attack ^® are products utilising Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis ( Bti ), a subspecies that kills the larvae of certain Diptera (the insect order containing the fl ies and mosquitoes). The main targets for Bti are the lar-val stages of mosquitoes, black fl ies and fungus gnats; it does not control larval stages of ‘higher’

fl ies such as the housefl y, stable fl y or blowfl ies.

Mosquitoes that are most susceptible to Bti include species in the genera Aedes and Psorophora. Anopheles and Culex species are