Interaction of Metarhizium anisopliae Against Emergent Insect Pest Problems in the North-Eastern Tea Industry

Tea, which is a popular non-alcoholic protective beverage, offers numer
ous health benefits such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancerous, and
weight-loss effects. However, the moist and rain-fed conditions prevailing in the tea ecosystem favor rapid surveillance of devastating pests and pathogens, thus requir
ing constant application of plant protection formulations, including the agrochemi
cals, pesticides, and fertilizers to maintain bush health and quality tea production.
The injudicious and rapid usage of chemical compounds has negative consequences,
as the former deteriorates the native soil and environment, causing disruption of the
active microbial gene pool in the rhizosphere and possessing an increased risk of
pesticide resistance, and maximum residue limits. In intriguing of the above,
exploiting the potential of alternative, non-chemical, and sustainable pest manage
ment tactics like entomopathogen fungi under integrated pest management has
recently gained momentum as it is convinced that biocontrol agents, including
the microbial biopesticides, are free of toxic chemicals and other harmful ingredi
ents. The current article explores the interaction of Metarhizium anisopliae as a
prominent entomopathogenic fungi for the sustainable management of emergent
insect pest populations in North-Eastern tea industry. Additionally, recent trends in
research on entomopathogen-mediated pest management in tea has been highlighted
to provide a more dedicated web interface using bibliometrics and biblioshiny.