ABSTRACT
The soil environment offers an excellent site for insect-nematode interactions; more than 90% of insect pests spend part of their life cycle in the soil, and soil is the natural reservoir of steinernematid and heterorhabditid nematodes. This chapter examines studies on the efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes against a number of soil-inhabiting pests. Soil moisture is often the most critical factor in the survival and movement of entomopathogenic nematodes. Entomopathogenic nematodes show potential for field control of several other weevils. Entomopathogenic nematodes have shown their potential as biological control agents for many soil-inhabiting insect pests or even those that only come in contact with the soil during a brief period of their life cycle. The soil environment is the ideal location to take advantage of the interactions between entomopathogenic nematodes and some of the over 90% of insects which spend part of their life cycles in contact with the soil.
