Insect viruses are unable to infect mammals, including humans, which makes them very safe to handle.
Most insect viruses are relatively specific, so the risk of non-target effects on beneficial insects is very low.
Many viruses occur naturally and may already be present in the environment.
Even in cases where they are applied, successful infections can perpetuate the disease outbreak making repeat applications within a season unnecessary.
Some of its targets are important pests, such as Plutella xylostella, H. armigera, S. exigua, and Xestia c-nigrum. A Mamestra brassicae nucleopolyhedrovirus (MabrNPV), originally isolated from M. brassicae larval cadavers on oilseed rape in 1979, was successfully developed as an insecticide produced in either H. armigera or S. exigua reared on an artificial diet.
Virus infection begins in the insect’s digestive system but spreads throughout the whole body of the host in fatal infections. The body tissues of virus-killed insects are almost completely converted into virus particles. The digestive system is among the last internal organ system to be destroyed, so the insects usually continue to feed until they die. Infected insects look normal until just prior to death, when they tend to darken in color and behave sluggishly. They often develop more slowly than uninfected individuals.
Most virus-infected insects die attached to the plant on which they feed. Virus-killed insects break open and spill virus particles into the environment. These particles can infect new insect hosts. Because of the destruction of the internal tissues, dead insects often have a “melted” appearance. The contents of a dead insect can range from milky-white to dark brown or black.
While natural virus outbreaks tend to be localized, virus particles can be spread by the movement of infected insects, the movement of predators such as other insects or birds that come into contact with infected insects, or non-biological factors like water run-off, rain-splash or air-borne soil particles. Many virus-infected insects also climb to higher positions on their host plant before they die, which maximizes the spread of virus particles after the insect dies and disintegrates.
The number of virus infection cycles within a growing season depends heavily on the insect’s life cycle. Insect pests with multiple generations per season or longer life cycles can be more heavily impacted by virus outbreaks since there is a greater opportunity for multiple virus infection cycles within a growing season.
Spodoptera litura is a serious pest to vegetables such as broccoli, beans, cabbage, and dasheen.
Spodoptera litura nucleopolyhedrovirus (SpliNPV) has been studied extensively to determine its infectivity levels, mass production potential, and biosafety towards bees, fish, silkworm, mice, rabbits, and monkeys.
Since 1997, SpliNPV has been produced as a commercialized insecticide via continuous rearing of the host larvae on an artificial diet.
Increasing public concern about the environmental consequences of the massive use of chemical pesticides and the development of resistances to these products by insects have increased scientists’ interest in finding alternatives for controlling insect pests.
Insects are major pests, not only to agricultural crops but also to domestic animals and humans.
Viruses offer alternatives for safe and environmentally friendly insect pest control, using various strategies. Insect viruses have been used as biological control agents with success against various insect pests.
Virus diseases have been reported from more than 800 species of insects and mites. Isolates of the baculovirus and cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus groups have biological properties which should lead to their successful use as microbial control agents in integrated pest management programmes.
These viruses infect the larval stages of many lepidopterous and hymenopterous pests, producing a chronic or lethal infection and the release of large quantities of relatively stable infective inclusion bodies (IBs).
The IBs serve as the means by which the viruses are transmitted and persist outside the host.
Younger larvae are more susceptible to infection than older stages, and this difference influences the timing of application and doses of virus needed for practical pest control.
The fungicidal activity makes Trichoderma viride useful as a biological control against plant pathogenic fungi. It has been shown to provide protection against such pathogens as Rhizoctonia, Pythium and even Armillaria.
Trichoderma viride is found naturally in soil and is effective as a seed dressing in the control of seed and soil-borne diseases including Rhizoctonia solani, Macrophomina phaseolina and Fusarium species.
When Trichoderma viride is applied at the same time as the seed, it colonizes the seed surface and kills not only the pathogens present on the cuticle, but also provides protection against soil-borne pathogens.