Biocontrol agents agriculture
In agriculture, microbial biocontrol agents are usually referred to as biopesticides.īiocontrol microbes control their target species through a multitude of biological interactions. Important examples of microbial biocontrol agents include Bacillus thuringiensis, fluorescent pseudomonads and Beauveria bassiana. Bacteria, fungi and viruses can all act as biocontrol agents due to the large diversity of target species and the variety of methods of action. Microbes used for biocontrol reduce the target species' population through many ecological mechanisms including pathogenism, competition, production of allelochemicals and other interactions. They are undesirable because these species are a detriment to human interests in an ecosystem. These undesirable species can range from agricultural pests to water contaminants to virulent pathogens.