Biological control of arthropod pests in protected cropping by employing entomopathogens: Efficiency, production and safety

The increasing adoption of environmentally friendly agricultural pesticides can be attributed to the continuous development and optimisation of both strategies and availability of products for pest management. This aligns with the increase in global population, decline of arable land and health concerns about synthetic pesticides. One outcome has been the development of protected cropping for enhancing productivity and quality of horticultural products worldwide. In 2020, biopesticides represented 6 % of the global pesticide market, but their share is expected to double and reach nearly 15 % by 2031. Microbial products have been mainly based on a limited number of pathogenic species, including Bacillus thuringiensis, Beauveria bassiana and Metarizhium anisopliae. Here, we review the current progress of biopesticide products for agriculture. In particular, we explore opportunities to utilise entomopathogens in protected cropping (controlled environment agriculture), where they have several advantages for integrated pest management (IPM) in these systems. There are a range of candidate entomopathogens such as Paenibacillus elgii, Pseudomonas spp., Aspergillus spp. and Cladosporum spp. that may be employed as biological control agents (BCAs) in protected cropping. Furthermore, the use of endophytic ento-mopathogenic fungi (EPF) is a promising alternative strategy for IPM in protected cropping. Also, we review the future strategies for IPM in protected cropping systems, including the combination of different BCAs. We suggest that interactions between combinations of BCAs, particularly EPF-Entomopathogenic bacteria (EPB) and EPF-beneficial arthropods, can offer promising IPM strategies, providing opportunities towards sustainable food production in the future.