Development of Fungal Biopesticides from endophytes isolated from medicinal plants

The area under organic cultivation in India is estimated to be around 100,000 hectares. Besides, there are lakhs of hectares of forest area being certified as organic. Already some states like Uttarakhand and Sikkim have declared them as organic states. Moreover, the areas under organic crop cultivation may expand because of the growing demand for organic food (as a result of increasing health consciousness among the people). This indicates that there is huge potential for the growth of the biopesticide sector in India. The stress on organic farming and on residue free commodities would certainly warrant increased adoption of biopesticides by the farmers. The main objective of this project is to develop fungal biopesticides from endophytes isolated from the medicinal plants.