Isolation and mass multiplication of Verticillium lecanii-A potential Biopesticide

One of the major problems in agriculture field is the insects that cause infection in plants. One of those insects is Aphids, the most destructive insect pests found on cultivated plants. To overcome this problem, fungal entomopathogens are used as biocontrol agents because of high host specificity, shelf life and non-toxic effects to the environment. The entomopathogenic fungi Verticillium lecanii is used as the effective biopesticide to control the insects by the presence of Chitosan. In this study, different substrates such as corn, rice, wheat, and soya bean were used for the mass multiplication of V.lecanii species. Among the substrate media, high spores of V.lecanii were obtained in corn media containing dextrose as an additive which increased the spore count faster. Later, chitosan was isolated using the same media whose presence in the fungi involved in the defense mechanism of eradication of pests and the biopesticide was prepared and infected syngonium plants were treated and compared against chemical pesticides which proved the efficiency of Verticillium lecanii biopesticide.