Advantages and disadvantages of microbial control of insects

Advantages

• Specificity to the target organisms or a limited number of host species.
• Little or no direct impact upon parasitoids and invertebrate predators.
• Harmless to vertebrates and plants.
• No toxic residues.
• Little or no environmental pollution.
• Little or no development of resistance.
• Little or low health risks.
• No secondary pest outbreaks.
• Compatibility with other biological control agents.
• Possibility of llong-termcontrol.
• Ease of application.
• Adaptation to genetic modification through biotechnology.

Disadvantages

• Specificity only to target organisms.
• Strict timing of application for maximum effect.
• Long-term lethal infection (eg. Little or no, knockdown effect).
• Inactivation by environmental factors.
• Expensive to produce, especially for obligate pathogens.
• Short shelf life for some entomopathogens.
• Comparatively costly in the initial time.