Insects (2018) 9 (4 - 148)

Rady Shawer, Irene Donati, Antonio Cellini, Francesco Spinelli and Nicola Mori (2018)
Insecticidal activity of Photorhabdus luminescens against Drosophila suzukii
Insects 9 (4 - 148)
Abstract: Drosophila suzukii causes considerable economic damage to small and thin-skinned fruits including cherry, blueberry, raspberry, grape and strawberry. Since it attacks fruits at the ripening stage, the use of chemical pesticides is limited due to the high risk of residues on fruit. Biological control is thus expected to play an essential role in managing this pest. The Gram-negative bacterium, Photorhabdus luminescens and its symbiotic Heterorhabditis spp. nematode have been shown to be highly pathogenic to insects, with a potential for replacing pesticides to suppress several pests. Insecticidal activity of P. luminescens at different bacterial cell concentrations and its cell-free supernatant were assessed against third-instar larvae and pupae of D. suzukii under laboratory conditions. P. luminescens suspensions had a significant oral and contact toxicity on D. suzukii larvae and pupae, with mortalities up to of 70–100% 10 days after treatment. Cell-free supernatant in the diet also doubled mortality rates of feeding larvae. Our results suggest that P. luminescens may be a promising candidate for biological control of D. suzukii, and its use in integrated pest management (IPM) programs is discussed.
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Database assignments for author(s): Francesco Spinelli, Nicola Mori

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.
	Drosophila suzukii
Heterorhabditis bacteriophora/Photorhabdus (entomopathogen)	Drosophila suzukii