Development of Bacterial Biopesticide: Isolation to Product Formulation

Pests resistency against most of the chemical pesticides and Bt based products are of global concern. Insect epizootics provide a good natural source of entomopathogens. Serratia entomophila is a Gram negative non spore former bacteria known for its application against Newziland grass grub. The strain S. entomophila AB2, isolated from dead pod borer in India, is not only shows its biopesticide activity against lepidopteron pests, also found to be a plant growth promoter through solubilizing inorganic phosphate and zinc and producing IAA. Therefore, it may be a very good biocontrolling agent in IPM practice. For any non spore-former, product formulation is a crucial step. A vermiculite based prototype formulation shows to enhance crop yield about 250% and reduce pest attack about 50% in ground nut and sesame when applied to field through soil conditioning method only. Single strain with multidimensional attributes will definitely pave a new way to direct the biopesticides research in coming decade. The strains will also provide novel insecticidal genes that may have used in future pest management with the aids of genetic and/or protein engineering.