Current State of Fungal Antagonists with Special Emphasis on Indian Scenario

Abstract

The major objective of shifting from conventional to eco-friendly and sustainable agriculture is to minimize the load of chemical inputs. The replacement of chemical pesticides by biologicals is a prime step for achieving this objective. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) can act as effective management tools for insect and mite pest regulations without harming the biodiversity and environment. About 49 EPF species, predominantly from Deuteromycotina and Zygomycotina, have so far been commercially exploited world-wide as biopesticides, among which the most widely used species belong to genus Beauveria and Metarhizium. In India, a country of rich biodiversity, research on EPF has given rise to many products, out of which about 638 EPF formulations have so far been registered. Despite of huge resources and many advantages over conventional synthetic pesticides, EPF remain relatively underutilized in Indian agriculture. Biopesticides represent only around 2-3% of the overall pesticide market in India, a share that is expected to increase manifold in coming years. In this review, we provide an overview on promising EPF as bio-control agents of the key agricultural pests and also the scope for future studies for their better utilization.