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DEVELOPMENT, EVALUATION AND SAFETY OF ENTOMOPATHOGENS FOR
CONTROL OF ARTHROPOD PESTS
Research Proposal to succeed Regional Project S-265
Statement of the problem:
There is an urgent need to accelerate the development and implementation of cost-
effective, environmentally safe alternatives to chemical pesticides for insect control. As
more and more chemical pesticides show up in groundwater, are implicated in health
problems and are no longer effective due to pest resistance, biological control as a pest
control technology is becoming more desirable. There is an opportunity to immediately
develop and implement entomopathogen technology that will significantly improve food
safety and affordability, reduce the transmission of animal disease, protect biodiversity,
enhance water quality and preserve the environment.
Effective control of noxious insects continues to be an overriding concern throughout
all aspects of American agriculture. Over use of chemical pesticides associated with
mitigating the damaging effects of agricultural pests and disease vectors, accelerated
insect resistance to existing chemical pesticides and environmental pollution are world-
wide problems. Current methods for insect control are not sustainable. The use of
entomopathogens is a key component in IPM.
Justification:
Multistate research is essential to the development of entomopathogens for pest
control. Microbial insecticides, nematodes and transgenic plants are registered for crop
protection across state lines. This requires tests of efficacy, persistence, safety,
resistance management and other parameters under different sets of environmental
conditions. Entomopathogens and their host pest insects are not limited by artificial
boundaries. Host insects, non-target organisms and entomopathogens must be
exchanged among scientists for optimal development. Protocols must be developed
and standardized for the diverse types of research being proposed which can best be
accomplished through multistate cooperation. Therefore, the development of
entomopathogens for pest management systems requires multi-state cooperative
research among State Agricultural Experiment Stations, USDA research groups and
industry to be successful in fulfilling the objectives of this project proposal.
Further development and implementation of entomopathogens for biological control of
insects will directly benefit farmers, consumers and the environment. Use of
entomopathogens as applied microbial insecticides or as classical biological controls
will significantly lessen the use of chemical pesticides and therein reduce labor costs,
potential health hazards to humans and wildlife, and pollution of soil and groundwater.
In addition, the passage of the Food Quality Protection Act in 1996 is requiring
progressive detailed review of existing pesticides, and will certainly reduce the variety of
pesticides available for use.
This project is a critical part of biological control and integrated pest management.
ESCOP has established the development of pest management strategies as one of its