💡 Entomopathogenic fungi are typically soil-dwelling microorganisms that infect and kill insects and other arthropods( spiders, mites, centipedes). Being more tolerant to changing environmental conditions than other microbial biocontrols, fungal biological control agents are considered to be more preferrable disease-management alternatives against powdery mildew. 📌 Research Highlights: ▶ Certain entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi have proven to be persistent and adaptable to a larger variety of environmental conditions. ▶ Lecanicillium species are commercialized entomopathogenic fungi used as biopesticides for control of white flies, aphids, and other pathogens. However, conflicting reports render its efficacy against powdery mildew questionable. ▶ Major ecological factors determining the effectiveness of entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi are their susceptibilities to temperature, relative humidity, and UV irradiation. The process of the research consisted of setting up the leaves in growth chambers, the comparison of treated and un-treated leaves after 20 days. The graph shows the severities of disease under varying relative humidities. 🎯 This study concluded that there was an encouraging result in controlling and reducing powdery mildew in cucumber leaves pretreated with entomopathogenic and mycoparasitic fungi. When concerned with runoff into the fish system, due to the foliar applications, the results showed that their survival in fish water could serve as an option for battling fish pathogens. This study is not conclusive and further research is needed on the dual role of fungal isolates against pathogens in a coupled aquaponics system. Read more