Insecticidal and Antimicrobial Effect of Entomopathogenic Fungi in Stored Wheat

In developing countries, the loss of food grain is about 10–20% of their total yield due to poor storage infrastructure. During storage under such unproductive storage conditions, approximately 600 species of insects deteriorate the stored grains, and 100 of those species cause financial damage to the grains. In addition to directly causing weight loss through feeding damage, insects also drastically reduce nutrients, lower the proportion of seeds that germinate, lower the grade, and decrease the market value of the crop as a result of waste accumulation, webbing, and insect dead bodies. The use of antiquated and conventional chemical fumigants to control stored grain insect pests has been a prevalent practice for a long time, which results in environmental contamination, residual toxicity, and resurgence. Due to high pathogenicity and minimal human toxicity, entomopathogenic fungi may be a viable option over traditional techniques for managing stored grain insect pests and can be treated as a novel solution for protecting the stored grains. Under consideration of these facts, the goal of the current study was to examine how three distinct entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Lecanicillium lecanii) affected wheat grain insects (Sitophilus oryzae, Rizopertha dominica, and Tribolium castaneum) that were kept in storage.