INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON ENTOMOPATHOGENIC MICROORGANISMS WITH POTENTIAL AS BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS - minireview

"The entomopathogenic fungi play an important role in suppressing the natural population of insect pests. A number of these microorganisms are developed and commercialized as mycoinsecticides for controlling arthropod pests in agriculture and forestry. A wide range of factors and the interactions between them can affect the persistence and survival of entomopathogenic microorganisms; understanding of these factors is indispensable for the successful use of microbiological control agents, in conditions of economic and ecological efficiency. The influence of some of these factors on fungal development and fate in soil and on plants has been studied by a number of authors for several entomopathogenic hyphomycetes used in biological control programs. The aim of this study was to summarize a few aspects about the abiotic and biotic factors that influence the biological activity of entomopathogenic microorganisms. The following environmental factors are presented: light, temperature and humidity, soil, microorganisms, wind and precipitation. "