The aim of the present study was to evaluate the artificial establishment of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae as endophytes in maize plants, and its effect in controlling the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae. The commercial strains B. bassiana Bb-18 and M. anisopliae Ma-30 were concentrated at 1 × 10 8 conidia ml −1 , and the soil drench method was used to establish them as endophytes in maize plant parts. The biological control assays were conducted under laboratory conditions on second and fourth larval instars of S. frugiperda. B. bassiana colonized roots, stems, and leaves of maize tissues. However, a high occurrence of B. bassiana was obtained in roots than leaves and stems with 25, 10, and 5 isolations, respectively, whereas M. anisopliae was only acquired on roots. Both entomopathogenic fungi caused (100%) mortality on the second instar larvae. In addition, B. bassiana and M. anisopliae killed (87 and 75%) of the fourth larval instars, respectively. The fungus M. anisopliae caused the highest sporulation rates during the study. These results suggest that the entomopathogenic fungi might contribute to a sustainable S. frugiperda management in maize production in Cuba.
Entomopathogenic fungi are an ecological alternative for the control of agricultural pests. These fungi live in organic matter in the soil and can cause natural epizootics in many arthropods associated with the rhizosphere. The aim of this study was to evaluate the abundance of Beauveria and Metarhizium spp. in maize and banana agroecosystems in central Cuba. Selective medium and insect baiting methods were used to isolate the entomopathogenic fungi from the soil. Metarhizium spp. were significantly more abundant than Beauveria spp. in both types of fields of agroecosystems. The abundance of Metarhizium spp. was higher in Sagua la Grande than in Santa Clara and Camajuaní municipalities. The insect bait method resulted as the most successful way to isolate entomopathogenic fungi from soil. These results show the composition of the entomopathogenic fungi in different agroecosystems, and they are an advance in the understanding of their ecology.
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