Chapter 11
Fungal Entomopathogens of Order
Hypocreales
Hassan Askary, Sepideh Ghaffari, Mina Asgari, and Javad Karimi
11.1 Introduction
Insect pathogenic fungi are a great group of microorganisms that attack a wide range
of insect and mite species. Some species and strains of the fungi are very specific.
Generally, the fungi produce spores which infect their host by germinating on their
body surface and entering into its hemocoel. Entomopathogenic fungi have the
greatest potential for controlling sucking insect pests because they have the contact
mode of action, infecting through the cuticle rather than requiring ingestion (Vega
and Kaya 2012; Chandler 2017).
Early research on entomopathogenic agents started about 50 years ago in Iran,
firstly by Dr. Aziz Kharazi Pakdel, emeritus professor of entomology, Tehran
University. His experiences on Nosema sp. (Microsporidia: Microsporea) and
Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) were the basis of researches and
thesis of his students. Since the 1990s, researchers have been paid more attention to
insect fungal pathogen. Isolation of native fungal isolates and their bioassay on
H. Askary (*)
Biological Control Department, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural
Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, Iran
e-mail: askary@areo.ac.ir
S. Ghaffari
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad,
Mashhad, Iran
M. Asgari
Department of Entomology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran,
Iran
J. Karimi
Department of Plant Protection, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
e-mail: jkb@um.ac.ir
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Karimi, H. Madadi (eds.), Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran,
Progress in Biological Control 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63990-7_11
439
Fungal Entomopathogens of Order
Hypocreales
Hassan Askary, Sepideh Ghaffari, Mina Asgari, and Javad Karimi
11.1 Introduction
Insect pathogenic fungi are a great group of microorganisms that attack a wide range
of insect and mite species. Some species and strains of the fungi are very specific.
Generally, the fungi produce spores which infect their host by germinating on their
body surface and entering into its hemocoel. Entomopathogenic fungi have the
greatest potential for controlling sucking insect pests because they have the contact
mode of action, infecting through the cuticle rather than requiring ingestion (Vega
and Kaya 2012; Chandler 2017).
Early research on entomopathogenic agents started about 50 years ago in Iran,
firstly by Dr. Aziz Kharazi Pakdel, emeritus professor of entomology, Tehran
University. His experiences on Nosema sp. (Microsporidia: Microsporea) and
Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) were the basis of researches and
thesis of his students. Since the 1990s, researchers have been paid more attention to
insect fungal pathogen. Isolation of native fungal isolates and their bioassay on
H. Askary (*)
Biological Control Department, Iranian Research Institute of Plant Protection, Agricultural
Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, Iran
e-mail: askary@areo.ac.ir
S. Ghaffari
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad,
Mashhad, Iran
M. Asgari
Department of Entomology, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran,
Iran
J. Karimi
Department of Plant Protection, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
e-mail: jkb@um.ac.ir
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. Karimi, H. Madadi (eds.), Biological Control of Insect and Mite Pests in Iran,
Progress in Biological Control 18, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63990-7_11
439