Episode 155: Entomopathogenic Fungi Explained: Blastospores, Beauveria, and Smarter IPM with Julie Graesch

Cannabis Cultivation and Science Podcast

Tad Hussey.

Cannabis, Cultivation, Marijuana, Science, Gardening, Growing, Leisure, Home & Garden, Organics, Grow, Natural Sciences, Weed

4.7 • 716 Ratings

🗓️ 7 January 2026

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode takes a deep dive into entomopathogenic fungi—fungi that infect and kill insect pests—and how to use them effectively in real cultivation systems. Biocontrol products based on Beauveria and Metarhizium are widely used, but many growers don’t fully understand how these organisms work, why formulation matters, or how life-cycle differences like blastospores versus conidia influence results. My guest is Julie Graesch, a biological scientist with 18 years of experience in laboratory, greenhouse, and field research within the IPM industry. We break down how entomopathogenic fungi infect insects, why some applications fail, and how to incorporate these tools into a preventative, biology-driven IPM program rather than using them reactively.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Cannabis
0:18.0	and Science Podcast.
0:23.2	I'm your host, Tad Hussey of KISSorganics.
0:27.7	This is the podcast where we discuss the cutting edge of growing from a science-based perspective and drawn top experts from around the industry to share their wisdom and knowledge.
0:33.0	Some quick updates to start the new year.
0:35.5	The Cannabis Cultivation and Science Conference is coming back to Bozeman, Montana, August 28th through the 30th, 2026.
0:43.4	After a successful first year, we wanted to do it again, but even better. You can see the collective elevation facility, the largest in Montana, on the latest Canter Cribs episode, and then come and see it
0:55.8	for yourself and hang out with many of the podcast guests as well as some amazing science-minded
1:00.7	growers. I've already confirmed Suzanne Wainwright Evans and Bryant-Mason for workshops and talks.
1:07.6	Tickets are now available on the Kiss Organics website.
1:14.2	This week's podcast is all about entomopathogenic fungi. It's quite a mouthful, but really just refers to fungi that attack
1:19.6	insects. You've probably heard of them even if you didn't recognize the word. Bavaria and
1:25.1	Meteryzium are two good examples of commercially available entomopathic fungi.
1:30.5	My guest this week is someone with a ton of experience with these fungi and how to incorporate
1:34.9	them into your grow. By better understanding their life cycles and methods of attack,
1:40.0	you can better control insects or set up a good preventative IPM program.
1:44.8	My guest this week is Julie Gretch.
1:47.8	Julie has 18 years of experience as a biological scientist, practiced in laboratory, greenhouse, and field research,
1:54.7	as well as technical service support for the integrated pest management industry.
1:59.4	She has been with Bioworks for five years
2:01.7	and has previously held positions at BASF, Becker Underwood,
2:06.0	and Iowa State University.
	...

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