Biocontrol Science and Technology (2011) 21, 299-316

S. Ekesi, N.K. Maniania and S.A. Mohamed (2011)
Efficacy of soil application of Metarhizium anisopliae and the use of GF-120 spinosad bait spray for suppression of Bactrocera invadens (Diptera: Tephritidae) in mango orchards
Biocontrol Science and Technology 21 (3), 299-316
Abstract: Field trials were conducted for two seasons in mango orchards at Nthagaiya, Kenya, to evaluate the efficacy of soil inoculation with Metarhizium anisopliae (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) and GF-120 spinosad bait sprays, applied either alone or in combination, for suppression of the invasive fruit fly, Bactrocera invadens (Diptera: Tephritidae). During the 2006/2007 season, average post-treatment samples showed that B. invadens catches from the control orchards were four times higher than the number of flies captured in the plots receiving M. anisopliae+GF-120. Fruit infestation was 16, 45, 30 and 60% in the M. anisopliae+GF-120, M. anisopliae alone, GF-120 alone and control orchards, respectively. In the 2007/2008 season, average B. invadens post-treatment samples in the control orchards were seven times higher than the treatment with M. anisopliae+GF-120; and fruit infestation was 11, 38, 28, and 52% in the orchards assigned to M. anisopliae+GF-120, M. anisopliae alone, GF-120 alone and control treatments, respectively. Enumeration of conidial densities from soil samples on agar plates showed initial densities of 1.1-2.1 x 10⁵ colony forming units (cfu)/g of dry weight of soil but decreased to 1.0-1.4 x 10³ cfu/g at the end of the experimental period. Exposure of laboratory-reared pupariating larvae to soil samples taken from fungus-treated fields showed significant reduction in B. invadens adult emergence (25-36%) compared with the control (80-82%). Our results suggest that the combined use of soil application of M. anisopliae and GF-120 spinosad bait spray is an effective IPM strategy for field suppression of B. invadens on mango.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Sunday Ekesi, Nguya K. Maniania

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
control - general
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
evaluation - screening - selection

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bactrocera dorsalis	Mango (Mangifera indica)	Kenya
Metarhizium anisopliae (entomopathogen)	Bactrocera dorsalis	Mango (Mangifera indica)	Kenya