Experimental and Applied Acarology (2005) 36, 41-50

Vitalis W. Wekesa, Nguya K. Maniania, Markus Knapp and Hamadi I. Boga (2005)
Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae to the tobacco spider mite Tetranychus evansi
Experimental and Applied Acarology 36 (1), 41-50
Abstract: Seventeen isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin and two isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin were evaluated for their pathogenicity against the tobacco spider mite, Tetranychus evansi Baker and Pritchard. In the laboratory all the fungal isolates were pathogenic to the adult female mites, causing mortality between 22.1 and 82.6%. Isolates causing more than 70% mortality were subjected to dose-response mortality bioassays. The lethal concentration causing 50% mortality (LC₅₀) values ranged between 0.7×10⁷ and 2.5×10⁷ conidia ml⁻¹. The lethal time to 50% mortality (LT₅₀) values of the most active isolates of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae strains varied between 4.6 and 5.8 days. Potted tomato plants were artificially infested with T. evansi and treated with B. bassiana isolate GPK and M. anisopliae isolate ICIPE78. Both fungal isolates reduced the population density of mites as compared to untreated controls. However, conidia formulated in oil outperformed the ones formulated in water. This study demonstrates the prospects of pathogenic fungi for the management of T. evansi.
(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): Nguya K. Maniania, Markus Knapp

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
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.
	Tetranychus evansi
Beauveria bassiana (entomopathogen)	Tetranychus evansi	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)
Metarhizium anisopliae (entomopathogen)	Tetranychus evansi	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)