Microbiological Control: A New Age of Maize Production

Maize is one of the world’s most widely grown and consumed cereal. It is known for its multipurpose use; it provides food and fuel to humans, feeds to animals and used as raw material in manufacturing industries. Globally, maize production is a large and significant market which produced 1,116.41 million tons in year 2020 and it’s expected to increase by 1.57% in year 2021. Pests and disease of maize cause significant damage to maize thereby reducing its’s yield and quality. There are many methods of controlling maize disease and pests; they include cultural, biological and chemical methods etc. Recent research studies have discovered an alternative agricultural practices that are sustainable and safe as compared to chemical control of pests and disease. However, biological control has gained large acceptance and its believed to yield positive outcome as compared to chemical control. Various microorganisms are used to control pathogens of maize and thus, there is a need to understand better their interactions with plants. Furthermore, microorganism known as entomopathogens are used to control arthropods. They are biopesticides that play integral role in Pest Management. This section focuses on microbiological control of pathogens and arthropods, their mechanisms of action, applications and the future of entomopathogenic microorganisms and microbiological control of pathogens.