Entomopathogenic fungi are fungi whose spores land on an insect or mite, germinate, penetrate the cuticle and kill it from inside within days. Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium species, Cordyceps (Isaria) fumosorosea and Lecanicillium are the main greenhouse examples, and extension biocontrol guides for whiteflies list several of them.
In practice
Spores need moisture to germinate, so these products work best when leaf-surface humidity stays high for hours, which conflicts with flower rooms kept at 40-55% RH to prevent bud rot. They are mainly a veg-stage and media-drench tool. Many fungicides kill them, so do not tank-mix. Follow the label and local law.
Don't confuse with
- Plant pathogens: fungi that attack the crop, such as botrytis.
- Bt: a bacterium, not a fungus, that works only when eaten.
Germination is the stage where a viable seed absorbs water, splits its shell and pushes out a root (radicle), usually within 1-7 days at 20-30 °C.An insect-killing fungus whose spores germinate on contact, penetrate the cuticle and kill soft-bodied pests such as whiteflies, thrips, aphids and root aphids.Using living natural enemies, such as predators, parasitoids, nematodes and microbes, to suppress pests and diseases instead of, or before, chemical sprays.Small white-winged sap-sucking insects of the family Aleyrodidae, mainly Trialeurodes vaporariorum and Bemisia tabaci, that fly up when disturbed and coat leaves in honeydew.Relative humidity is the water vapour in air as a percentage of what it could hold at that temperature, so the same RH dries plants differently at different temperatures.Botrytis cinerea, the fungus behind bud rot or grey mould, which rots dense colas from the inside in cool, humid conditions late in flower.Integrated pest management: preventing and controlling pests by combining monitoring, prevention, cultural, biological and, as a last resort, chemical tools against set action thresholds.
