Background:
Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) refer to beneficial nematodes that occur naturally in soils and belong to Steinernematidae and the Heterorhabditidae. EPN are parasitic to more the 200 species of insects and are prospective natural biocontrol agents for many crop, animal and public health insect pests:
The infective juveniles of EPN infect insect hosts by entering via natural body openings, mouth, anus, spiracles or areas of thin cuticle, and in association with mutualistic bacterium cause host mortality within 48-96h. These nematodes are amenable to mass production and their application is compatible with standard agrochemical equipment, including various sprayers and irrigation systems. The use of EPN has now become an integral part of crop protection. Several Entomopathogenic nematodes have been exempted from the pesticide registration by many countries including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
Technology Details:
The present technology encompasses a novel WP formulation for infective juveniles of beneficial entomopathogenic nematodes which confers shelf-life of 10-12 months at NTP, easy transport, application and safety during transport, storage and application for biological control of whitegrubs and other soil insect pests. The WP formulation of nematodes developed is effective for controlling a variety of obnoxious and cryptic soil insect pests that are hardy to pesticides on a number of crops, including arecanut, banana, cashew, sugarcane, potato, corn, groundnut, redgram. The technology also protected through a patented No. 295748: under the title “Scale-up in vivo production, downstream processing, harvesting & development of WP formulations of EPN”.