Plant based Biotechnology has come to represent a means of mitigating the problems of global food security in the twenty first century. Products and processes in agriculture are increasingly becoming linked to science and cutting edge technology, to enable the engineering of what are in effect, designer plants. One of the most successful, non chemical approaches to pest management and disease control, which seeks a solution in terms of using living organisms to regulate the incidence of pests and and pathogens, providing a `natural control' while still maintaining the biological balance with the ecosystem. This volume, describes the various biological agents used to control insect pests of a variety of crops. Readers may also be interested in Volume 1: Crop diseases, Weeds and Nematodes, published in December 2000, ISBN 0-306-46460-8.

Plant based biotechnology has come to represent a means of mitigating the problems of global food security in the twenty-first century. Products and processes in agriculture are increasingly becoming linked to science and cutting edge technology, to enable the engineering of what are in effect, designer plants. One of the most successful, non-chemical approaches to pest management and disease control is biological control, which seeks a solution in terms of using living organisms to regulate the incidence of pests and pathogens, providing a natural control' while still maintaining the biological balance with the ecosystem. This volume, (the first of two), addresses the different types of biocontrol for different pests, namely, crop diseases, weeds and nematodes, and details the biology of both the pest and its enemies, which is vital for efficient use of biological control. The book has numerous contributors who are authorities in their fields, and would be an asset to those who have interest in sustainable agriculture and crop productivity.

Microbial toxins are secondary metabolites that accumulate in the organism and, to a large extent, are metabolically inactive towards the organism that produces them. The discovery of penicillin, a secondary metabolite of Penicillium notatum West (= P. chrysogenum Thom), in 1929 marked a milestone in the development of antibiotics (microbial toxins). In the intensive studies that followed this discovery, scientists chemically characterized several new molecules (toxins) from secondary metabolites of microbes, some having a definite function in causing pathogenesis in plants. Toxins are also known to playa significant role in inciting animal (human) and insect diseases and as plant growth regulators. Many common toxins have also been isolated from different microbes exhibiting a wide spectrum of biological activity. Toxins are broadly divisible into several characteristic groupings - polyketides, oxygen heterocyclic compounds, pyrons, terpenoidS, amino acids - diketopiperazines, polypeptides etc. Recent research has indicated that these toxins play an important role in plant pathogenesis, disease epidemics, plant breeding, biological control of plant pathogens and insect pests, induced resistance, plant-pathogen interactions etc. Toxins produced by weed pathogens are exploited as lead molecules in developing environmentally friendly herbicides.

Biological control offers a promising alternative to chemical control which can have adverse environmental implications. This volume contains 16 articles describing the most modern topics in biocontrol of plant pathogens, including risk analysis for the release of microbial antagonists, genetic engineering and application of tissue culture.

The insect 1 remain in symbiotic associations with a tremendous number of microorganisms, and some of them could be classified as parasitic/pathogenic. Without question, insect pathogens act as natural mortality agents and represent the third leg of the triad of biological control which is an environmentally sound alternative to chemical control. The virulence and pathogenicity of an insect parasite i. e. disease agent are determined by the microbial genome as a result of the coordinated expression of a concert of genes. These genes may be organized as cassettes and be associated with transmissible DNA. The acquisition of these domains or pathogenicity islands, may be sufficient to develop a transgenic virulent pathogen. The insect pathogens are very specific and this property can be exploited in making insects sick. However, rarely have field applications of highly virulent strains of viruses, fungi, bacteria, protozoa resulted in massive insect population reductions or induced widespread, persistent epizootics as the same is also governed by host susceptibility regulated by genetics, age, sex and physiological state of the host. Insect pathogens causing acute or chronic diseases must be able to persist in the environment, to multiply in the host, and to spread to other susceptible hosts. In this book, I have attempted to bring together all recent studies regarding both fundamental and more applied research aspects related to entomopathogens, bacteria, viruses, fungi and nematodes in order to facilitate their development and commercial exploitation.

Biological control offers a promising alternative to chemical control which can have adverse environmental implications. This volume contains 16 articles describing the most modern topics in biocontrol of plant pathogens, including risk analysis for the release of microbial antagonists, genetic engineering and application of tissue culture.

Plant based biotechnology has come to represent a means of mitigating the problems of global food security in the twenty-first century. Products and processes in agriculture are increasingly becoming linked to science and cutting edge technology, to enable the engineering of what are in effect, designer plants. One of the most successful , non-chemical approaches to pest management and disease control is biological control, which seeks a solution in terms of using living organisms to regulate the incidence of pests and pathogens, providing a natural control' while still maintaining the biological balance with the ecosystem. This volume, (the first of two), addresses the different types of biocontrol for different pests, namely, crop diseases, weeds and nematodes, and details the biology of both the pest and its enemies, which is vital for efficient use of biological control. The book has numerous contributors who are authorities in their fields, and would be an asset to those who have interest in sustainable agriculture and crop productivity.

Microbial toxins are secondary metabolites that accumulate in the organism and, to a large extent, are metabolically inactive towards the organism that produces them. The discovery of penicillin, a secondary metabolite of Penicillium notatum West (= P. chrysogenum Thom), in 1929 marked a milestone in the development of antibiotics (microbial toxins). In the intensive studies that followed this discovery, scientists chemically characterized several new molecules (toxins) from secondary metabolites of microbes, some having a definite function in causing pathogenesis in plants. Toxins are also known to playa significant role in inciting animal (human) and insect diseases and as plant growth regulators. Many common toxins have also been isolated from different microbes exhibiting a wide spectrum of biological activity. Toxins are broadly divisible into several characteristic groupings - polyketides, oxygen heterocyclic compounds, pyrons, terpenoidS, amino acids - diketopiperazines, polypeptides etc. Recent research has indicated that these toxins play an important role in plant pathogenesis, disease epidemics, plant breeding, biological control of plant pathogens and insect pests, induced resistance, plant-pathogen interactions etc. Toxins produced by weed pathogens are exploited as lead molecules in developing environmentally friendly herbicides.

Plant based Biotechnology has come to represent a means of mitigating the problems of global food security in the twenty first century. Products and processes in agriculture are increasingly becoming linked to science and cutting edge technology, to enable the engineering of what are in effect, designer plants. One of the most successful, non chemical approaches to pest management and disease control, which seeks a solution in terms of using living organisms to regulate the incidence of pests and and pathogens, providing a natural control' while still maintaining the biological balance with the ecosystem. This volume, describes the various biological agents used to control insect pests of a variety of crops. Readers may also be interested in Volume 1: Crop diseases, Weeds and Nematodes, published in December 2000, ISBN 0-306-46460-8.

The insect 1 remain in symbiotic associations with a tremendous number of microorganisms, and some of them could be classified as parasitic/pathogenic. Without question, insect pathogens act as natural mortality agents and represent the third leg of the triad of biological control which is an environmentally sound alternative to chemical control. The virulence and pathogenicity of an insect parasite i. e. disease agent are determined by the microbial genome as a result of the coordinated expression of a concert of genes. These genes may be organized as cassettes and be associated with transmissible DNA. The acquisition of these domains or pathogenicity islands, may be sufficient to develop a transgenic virulent pathogen. The insect pathogens are very specific and this property can be exploited in making insects sick. However, rarely have field applications of highly virulent strains of viruses, fungi, bacteria, protozoa resulted in massive insect population reductions or induced widespread, persistent epizootics as the same is also governed by host susceptibility regulated by genetics, age, sex and physiological state of the host. Insect pathogens causing acute or chronic diseases must be able to persist in the environment, to multiply in the host, and to spread to other susceptible hosts. In this book, I have attempted to bring together all recent studies regarding both fundamental and more applied research aspects related to entomopathogens, bacteria, viruses, fungi and nematodes in order to facilitate their development and commercial exploitation.