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Natural Awakenings Tucson

Fungus Among Us: Mushrooms Offer Pesticide-Free Insect Control

Paul Stamets, one of the world’s leading mycologists, invented a fungus (mushroom)-based pesticide in 2006. An industry executive states, “This patent represents the most disruptive technology we have ever witnessed.” This “smart” pesticide provides a safe and nearly permanent solution for controlling more than 200,000 species of insects. Entomopathogenic (insect-destroying) fungi are altered so they don’t produce spores. This actually attracts the insects, which then eat them and turn into fungi from the inside-out. The invention has the potential to revolutionize the way humans grow  crops.


Source: Earth. We Are One. View the patent at Tinyurl.com/FungusPesticidePatent.