Scientia Agricola (2004) 61, 659-664

Rodrigo Soares Barreto, Edmilson Jacinto Marques, Manoel Guedes Corrêa Gondim Jr. and José Vargas de Oliveira (2004)
Selection of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok. for the control of the mite Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar)
Scientia Agricola 61 (6), 659-664
Abstract: The green mite, Mononychellus tanajoa (Bondar) (Acari: Tetranychidae), is considered to be one of the key pests in cassava, Manihot esculenta Crants, leading to considerable field losses. In this study, ten Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. and ten Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok. isolates were evaluated with regard to their potential as biological control agents against adult M. tanajoa females. The total mortality percentage of M. tanajoa caused by B. bassiana ranged from 13.0 to 97.0%, with confirmed mortality rates extending from 9.0 to 91.0% and LT₅₀ varying from 4.2 to 17.0 days. The M. anisopliae isolates showed total mortality percentages ranging from 12.0 to 45.0% with confirmed mortality rates extending from 8.0 to 45.0%, and LT₅₀ varying from 8.6 to 19.8 days. Lethal Concentrations (LC₅₀) of 3.93 × 10⁶ conidia mL^-1 and 7.44 × 10⁸ conidia mL^-1 were determined for B. bassiana and M. anisopliae, respectively. B. bassiana isolate 645 was the most efficient, being an alternative for use in biological control programs against the cassava green mite.
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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.
	Mononychellus tanajoa	Cassava (Manihot esculenta)	Brazil (NE)
Beauveria bassiana (entomopathogen)	Mononychellus tanajoa	Cassava (Manihot esculenta)	Brazil (NE)
Metarhizium anisopliae (entomopathogen)	Mononychellus tanajoa	Cassava (Manihot esculenta)	Brazil (NE)