Journal of Pest Science (2016) 89, 153-160
Monica Oreste, Giovanni Bubici, Michele Poliseno and Eustachio Tarasco (2016)
Effect of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae on the Trialeurodes vaporariorum-Encarsia formosa system
Journal of Pest Science 89 (1), 153-160
Abstract: The virulence of three strains of Beauveria bassiana and one of Metarhizium anisopliae was tested against Trialeurodes vaporariorum and its parasitoid Encarsia formosa in laboratory assays. These strains were previously selected for their virulence against Galleria mellonella and Tenebrio molitor. The commercial B. bassiana strain ATCC 74040, both as pure fungal culture and formulated myco-insecticide (Naturalis), was included in the assays as positive control. First, the entomopathogenic fungal strains were tested for their virulence against T. vaporariorum nymphs on tomato leaf disks. Then, the E. formosa development was evaluated under treatment with the entomopathogenic fungal strains at five different time points from the parasitization of T. vaporariorum nymphs. The virulence of our entomopathogenic fungal strains was superior to that of ATCC 74040, although not significantly, resulting in a cumulative mortality (CM) of T. vaporariorum nymphs 7 days after inoculation (DAI) greater than 86 %. Our M. anisopliae strain CIST8 was the most effective (96.6 % CM 7 DAI), even superior to the myco-insecticide Naturalis (94.2 %), which was more effective than the ATCC 74040 pure strain (85.6 %). The entomopathogenic fungal strains, and especially Naturalis, negatively affected E. formosa development and its parasitization activity of T. vaporariorum nymphs. This effect was more pronounced when the fungal strains were applied before parasitization. Results suggest that the application of entomopathogenic fungi is incompatible with E. formosa release on crops.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Giovanni Bubici
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation
application technology
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trialeurodes vaporariorum | Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) | Italy | ||
| Encarsia formosa (parasitoid) | Trialeurodes vaporariorum | |||
| Beauveria bassiana (entomopathogen) | Trialeurodes vaporariorum | |||
| Metarhizium anisopliae (entomopathogen) | Trialeurodes vaporariorum |
