However, the most progress inmaking microbial insecticides practical 

 has been achieved through research on protecting economic plants --the 

 subject of this report. 



WORLDWIDE RESEARCH, SHARED BY USDA 



Worldwide interest in microbial crop protection is indicated by re- 

 search reports that stem from all continents and some remote islands. 

 More than 100 professional scientists are studying diseases of pest-type 

 insects. 



Especially important for progress are insect pathology laboratories, 

 which are being established at an increasing rate. These laboratories 

 commonly include pest control in their research programs. 



The U. S. Department of Agriculture is among agencies that have 

 pioneered in making the disease method of pest control practical. Present 

 work is organized and shared along these lines: 



The Entomology Research Division of the Agricultural Research 

 Service maintains an insect pathology laboratory at the Agricultural 

 Research Center in Beltsville, Md. In this laboratory, several scientists 

 specialize in developmental work with insect disease agents as prospects 

 for pest control. They investigate the most promising materials and 

 methods of application in cooperation with the Entomology Research 

 Division's specialists on pests of major farm crops. In addition, several 

 ARS insect pathologists, stationed at other USDA laboratories, are working 

 on field problems. 



The USDA Forest Service conducts similar research on tree protec- 

 tion. Laboratory work centers primarily at Corvallis, Oreg.; New Haven, 

 Conn.; and Beltsville, Md. Forest Service specialists team with ARS insect 

 pathologists on field test projects. 



And all of this USDA research is extended by cooperation with State 

 agricultural experiment stations and other research agencies, including 

 those in industry and in foreign countries. 



THE MICROBIAL METHOD IN PERSPECTIVE 



Pest Warfare Prospects 



To understand how microbial insecticides fit into the overall situation 

 of pest warfare, here are two premises on which scientific thinking and 

 planning are based: 



1. Man will need to improve and change his pest-fighting tactics 

 progressively to have any hope of maintaining a good earth. The struggle 

 will get harder, inevitably, as agriculture changes and as insects invade 

 new areas through the expanding networks of transport and travel. 



2. No single type of control is likely to give man an all-purpose pest 

 destroyer. To combat different insects in different situations, man will 

 need a variety of special-purpose weapons and methods. He will need to 

 choose among these, and at times combine several, guided by the best 

 recommendations that research can provide. Possibilities range from 



