Formulations of Biopesticides

A large number of factors can potentially affect the economic feasibility of any given biological control product. These include the impact on the target pest, market size and spectrum of pests affected by the biocontrol agent, vari ability of field performance, costs of production, and a number of technologi cal challenges, including fermentation, formulation, and delivery systems (1 –42 ). Selection of the appropriate formulations that can improve product sta bility and viability may reduce inconsistency of field performance of many potential biological control agents ((2 ), 5 , 6 ). It has been indicated that slow progress in research on formulation and delivery systems is a major hurdle to the development of biopesticide products ((1 ),(7 )). This chapter summarizes the efforts and successes toward formulation of biocontrol products for use against diseases (biofungicides), weeds (bioherbicides), and insect pests (bioinsecticides). The discussion emphasizes the use of bacteria, fungi, and viruses as the agents. Information on formulation of other important biocontrol agents, such as nematodes, can be found elsewhere (8 ).