Episode 155: Entomopathogenic Fungi Explained: Blastospores, Beauveria, and Smarter IPM with Julie Graesch
About this episode
The episode explores the use of entomopathogenic fungi in pest control and their effective application in cultivation systems.
This episode takes a deep dive into entomopathogenic fungi—fungi that infect and kill insect pests—and how to use them effectively in real cultivation systems. Biocontrol products based on Beauveria and Metarhizium are widely used, but many growers don’t fully understand how these organisms work, why formulation matters, or how life-cycle differences like blastospores versus conidia influence results. My guest is Julie Graesch, a biological scientist with 18 years of experience in laboratory, greenhouse, and field research within the IPM industry. We break down how entomopathogenic fungi infect insects, why some applications fail, and how to incorporate these tools into a preventative, biology-driven IPM program rather than using them reactively.
People in this episode
Host: Tad Hussey
Guest: Julie Graesch
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Beauveria, Metarhizium, IPM
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