Comment on Bio-pesticides.

Explanation

(i) Bio-pesticides are biologically based agents used for the control of plant pests.
(ii) They are in high use due to their non-toxic, cheaper and eco-friendly characteristics as compared to chemical or synthetic pesticides.
(iii) Bio-pesticides have b ecome an integral component of pest management in terms of the environmental and health issues attributed to the use of chemicals in agriculture.
(iv) Tricoderma species are free-living fungi that are common in soil and root ecosystem.
(v) They have been recognized as bio-control agent for (1) the control of plant disease (2) ability to enhance root growth development (3) crop productivity (4) resistance to abiotic stress and (5) uptake and use of nutrients.
(vi) Beauveria species is an entomo-pathogenic fungus that grows natufally in soils throughout the world.
(vii) It acts as a parasite on various arthropod species causing white muscardine disease without affecting the plant health and growth.
(viii) It also controls damping off of tomato caused by Rhizoctonia solani.