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Formulation Technology of Biocontrol Agents: Present Status and Future Prospects

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Bioformulations: for Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

Recent shift in trends of agricultural practices from application of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to organic farming has brought into focus the use of microorganisms those carryout analogous functions. Formulations of rhizomicroorganisms available in global markets range from talc-based and liquid and secondary metabolite-based formulations. The ideal conditions required for development of high efficiency formulations of biopesticides include selection of potent strains, shelf life, storage, application technology, quality control, biosafety, and registration. In this chapter, we will discuss the constraints associated with development and commercialization of bioinoculants. Moreover, special emphasis will be on the next generation of antimicrobial secondary metabolite formulations which will not only have a much longer shelf life but also a higher efficiency against soilborne phytopathogens particularly against bacteria; also, a consortium of antimicrobial metabolites against individual pathogens could be formulated and used regardless of geographic location where the incidence of that particular disease is high. This approach would be unsurpassed by current technology, as the formulation would specifically target a particular pathogen while remaining soil microbiota would remain unaffected.

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Acknowledgments

HBS is grateful to the Department of Biotechnology (BT/PR5990/AGR/5/587/2012), New Delhi, for providing financial support. KB is grateful to BHU for financial assistance. BKS and CK are thankful to ICAR-AMAAS (Project No. P27/131) for financial support.

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  1. Department of Mycology and Plant Pathology, Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, 221005, India

    Chetan Keswani, Kartikay Bisen, Vivek Singh, Birinchi Kumar Sarma & Harikesh Bahadur Singh

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  1. Chetan Keswani
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  2. Kartikay Bisen
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  3. Vivek Singh
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  4. Birinchi Kumar Sarma
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  5. Harikesh Bahadur Singh
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Correspondence to Harikesh Bahadur Singh .

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  1. Envir Microbiol, School for Env. Sci., Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar Univ, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

    Naveen Kumar Arora

  2. Dept of Biological Sciences, Forman Christian College (Chartered Univ, Lahore, Pakistan

    Samina Mehnaz

  3. Istituto per la Protezione Sostenibile d, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Torino, Torino, Italy

    Raffaella Balestrini

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Keswani, C., Bisen, K., Singh, V., Sarma, B.K., Singh, H.B. (2016). Formulation Technology of Biocontrol Agents: Present Status and Future Prospects. In: Arora, N., Mehnaz, S., Balestrini, R. (eds) Bioformulations: for Sustainable Agriculture. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-2779-3_2

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