Bacillus thuringiensis and Bacillus sphaericus biopesticides production

Abstract

The long residual action and toxicity of the chemical insecticides have brought about serious environmental problems such as the emergence and spread of insecticide resistance in many species of vectors, mammalian toxicity, and accumulation of pesticide residues in the food chain. All these problems have highlighted the need for alternative biological control agents. Entomo-pathogenic Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and Bacillus sphaericus (Bs) are two safe biological control agents. They have attracted considerable interest as possible replacements for the chemical insecticides. Although microbial insecticides based on Bt and Bs are available for use, their high cost makes large-scale application impracticable in developing countries. This review focuses on the economic production of these two microorganisms by submerged fermentation and solid state fermentation using agro-industrial by-products and other wastes. © 2006 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.