Pest Management Science (2016) 72, 150-154

Xiang Zhou, Xiu Su and Hongbo Liu (2016)
A floatable formulation and laboratory bioassay of Pandora delphacis (Entomophthoromycota: Entomophthorales) for the control of rice pest Nilaparvata lugens Stål (Hemiptera: Delphacidae)
Pest Management Science 72 (1), 150-154
Abstract:
BACKGROUND
The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Staparvata luera: Delphacidae), is a serious rice pest that easily develops resistance to chemical insecticides and resistant rice varieties. This study evaluated the infectivity of the BPH fungal pathogen, Pandora delphacis, and developed a novel formulation as an alternative means of BPH control.
RESULTS
In a multiconidial concentration bioassay, P. delphacis-infected BPH cadavers were observed on day 4, but most occurred between days 5 and 8. BPH mortality depended on the inoculated conidial concentration. The cumulative mortality of adult BPHs reached 81.7% at 192 conidia mm^-2 in 8 days. Inoculation with 40.9 conidia mm^-2 was sufficient to induce 50% BPH death, based on analysis of a time-concentration-mortality model. A floatable P. delphacis-based formulation was made for use in paddy fields; mycelium-containing pellets mimicking mycosed cadavers could produce 7–15.7 × 10⁴ infectious conidia pellet^-1 at 11–28 °C. In the laboratory bioassay, three floating pellets in a BPH-rearing jar caused 75.5% BPH mortality within 8 days, similar to the mortality level caused by direct conidial inoculation.
CONCLUSION
P. delphacis is a potential biocontrol agent of BPHs for further research, and the novel floatable formulation holds promise as a method for BPH control.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
formulation/storage of bioagents
evaluation - screening - selection

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Nilaparvata lugens
Pandora delphacis (entomopathogen)	Nilaparvata lugens