Therefore, microbial insecticides have less global marketing potential. Many of them are characterized as suitable for niche markets with limited sales potential. Small companies could produce and market such products profitably, but they often lack the resources to risk investing in their development. A microbial pathogen that reduces its host population well but spares other pests may not be acceptable to pest managers dealing with crops under simultaneous attacks by multiple pest species. Many microbial insecticides do not exterminate insect pests rapidly, so these insects continue to feed, and thereby damage crops, for several days between infection and death.
Some insects develop resistance to several insect pathogens.
If pathogens are to be used successfully and continuously, resistance management will have to be practiced, as it is with chemical pesticides. Higher knowledge required for user Biologically based pest management systems, such as microbial insecticides, often require more in-depth knowledge of the interactions among pest, host, and environment. Biological agents inherently are more complex than chemical pesticides and have more complex interactions with environmental components. Because many microbial insecticides have short shelf lives, new formulations, packaging, marketing strategies, and quality controls have been developed to ensure product viability and activity. It is imperative that scientists receive continued funding to discover, characterize, develop, and in some cases, register microbial insecticides.