Projects

1 Literature Review

Completed in July 2020, "Entomopathogenic Fungi as an Alternative to Harmful Commercial Pesticides" comprehensively covers the detriments of pesticides currently used in the agricultural industry as well as the mechanisms that entomopathogenic fungi use to attack insects.

2 Trials

From January 2020 to June 2021, Ishan learned how to grow Brassica oleracea (cabbage, red cabbage, kohlrabi) and fava bean plants, grow and source Cordyceps militaris, and cultivate aphid colonies on plants. He used this knowledge to run preliminary trials on Cordyceps militaris to determine if it was able to control aphid populations.

3 TEDx Speech

Presented in November 2021, this speech delves into the health problems surrounding pesticides as well as experimentation conducted on Cordyceps militaris to determine the extent of its pest-controlling abilities.

4 Experimentation

A controlled experiment was conducted from December 2021 to January 2022 to scientifically verify if Cordyceps militaris could control the cabbage aphid on red cabbage plants. Exhibiting a mortality rate of almost 92% after 6 days, this fungus is up to par with commercial pesticides.

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5 College Speaker

Invited to speak at Diablo Valley College on April 28, 2022, Ishan educated students about different types of fungi as well as the biological mechanisms of Cordyceps militaris, discussed his comprehensive experimental planning process, and explored his experimental results along with implications for the future.

6 Research Paper

Completed in September 2022, "Applying Cordyceps militaris Biopesticide to Reduce Brevicoryne brassicae Infestation of Brassica oleracea Crops" explores the use of Cordyceps militaris as a viable pesticide on aphid insects. After 8 days of experimentation and 11,270 total aphids counted, C. militaris was confirmed to effectively control aphid populations with an efficacy of 91.93% and a corrected mortality rate of 90.25%. Implications for the pesticide industry in terms of cost effectiveness are also provided, demonstrating that C. militaris is potentially a cost-effective ingredient for agricultural pesticides.