Microbial Technology: Second Edition

Control of insect pests costs more than one-half billion dollars annually in the United States. Yet less than 5% of this is spent for microbial insecticides, despite the fact that entomopathogens (pathogens of insects) have been suggested as controlling agents of insect pests for over a century. Synthetic organic chemical insecticides in vogue today were not even available until about 50 years after control of an insect pest was demonstrated by using an entomopathogen. Obviously, the development of microbial insecticides has been pitifully slow.