Abstract

The world population growth has made necessary to increase the production of healthy foods, requiring the development of sustainable agricultural technologies. Biological control using entomopathogenic fungi is an alternative to meet this objective. These fungi have been traditionally studied to control insects; however, the focus of our studies in the last few years has been their activity as plant endophytes. Thus, they have been projected as a novel tool to protect crops. This chapter reviews the importance of these entomopathogenic fungi in the context of biological control, their ability to internally colonize different plant tissues and exert a protective action as endophytes, as well as provide additional benefits. Emphasis is placed on their antagonistic action to plant pathogens, a virtually unstudied area of research that no doubt has tremendous potential. The chapter also considers some aspects to assess their potential as commercial biopesticides. Finally, fields of study are suggested, in order to make this technology available to producers of agricultural crops.