The Significance Of Entomopathogenic Nematodes In Pest Control

When you dig soil, you come across various tiny insects and small worms often running around inside the soil, and you see millions of them. These tiny creatures are terms as entomopathogenic nematodes. They are a class of parasites that readily kill a wide range of pest insects. Due to their parasitic nature, they are widely popular in the entomology and plant pathology industry as the biological controlling factor. Some are microbial, while others are easily visible to the naked eye. Most of these nematodes are the most popular biocontrol agents that prevent crop destruction and beneficial plants.

The use of Entomopathogenic Nematodes In Pest Control

As mentioned above, one of the primary advantages of these Entomopathogenic nematodes is pest control, and they do not harm other crops and pests. This means they are not only used as biocontrol and pest control agents but can also be used as pollinators to help increase the population of flowering plants and create hybrid fruits and flowers without causing any harm to the plant or the crop. In addition, they also do not leave a chemical residue when they act on the pests, making it one of the best options for agriculturists to work on their crops.

Entomopathogenic Nematodes possess the ability to control the growth of pets in different species. While some nematodes work in the birth stage of larvae to kill eggs of the pests, others directly attack the controlling insects that lay these eggs. Depending on the type of pest growth, they can be used in different stages of pest infestation, making them one of the most versatile and highly in-demand tools for pest control methods.

Nematode biopesticides

Since these species of worms are soft-bodied, they are sometimes obligated to be facultative parasites of insects. They occur in the soil naturally and naturally trace their host depending on the concentration of carbon dioxide, their vibrations, and other chemical cues. These naturally help develop different types of pesticides and other insecticides in various pest management programs. They are also sued safely in developing different biopesticides which curb the growth of pests on different plant species.

Sometimes, these nematodes are synthetically grown according to the requirements of crops and the way the pests infest these crops and develop artificial methods to control their growth in the agricultural field.

Key takeaway

Different methods of pest control are necessary to protect plant species and kill the naturally occurring pests in different areas of the environment; Entomopathogenic Nematodes, both naturally occurring and artificial, are used safely and effectively to get the job done. Due to their advantage, they are used as natural pest controllers by different agriculturists all over the world.