Biocontrol efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana conidia against agricultural insect pests

Abstract

Insect pests are serious threats to agriculture, forestry, and human health because they damage crops and trees and spread diseases. Chemical insecticides control insect pests quickly and effectively, protecting crops. Environmental and health concerns arise from their use. Long‐term exposure can cause pesticide‐resistant insects, requiring stronger chemicals. Beneficial insects and wildlife may be harmed. Some chemical insecticides persist in the environment, causing long‐term ecological damage. The present study was to isolate, identify, and characterize entomopathogenic fungi from the soil, evaluate their pathogenicity against major insect species, and evaluate the non‐target effect on soil bioindicator species. Bioassay results show that Beauveria bassiana conidia are more pathogenic to all three species at 10 days after treatment, causing 100% mortality in Halyomorpha halys and Tenebrio molitor within 10 days. The lethal concentration showed lower LC50 values of 9.5 × 103 conidia/mL in H. halys, 2.6 × 103 conidia/mL in T. molitor, and 8.3×104 conidia/mL in P. japonica, B. bassiana treatment results showed a shortened insect life time LT50 of H. halys (6.0 days), T. molitor (5.3 days), and P. japonica (6.9 days). The present study concluded that B. bassiana fungi conidia are more efficient against three major insect pests.

Pathogenicity of Metarhizium rileyi (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) against Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

“…To meet this demand and ensure future global food security, researchers should prioritize reducing postharvest food losses, which occur throughout the entire food supply chain from harvest to consumption, in addition to increasing production. The majority of postharvest losses are caused by insect infestation [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Preventing losses caused by insect pests in stored products is essential [8][9][10].…”

“…The majority of postharvest losses are caused by insect infestation [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. Preventing losses caused by insect pests in stored products is essential [8][9][10]. Mealworms, scientifically known as Tenebrio molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), are responsible for 15%-17% of global grain and flour production losses [11].…”

Biocontrol effects of chemical molecules derived from Beauveria bassiana against larvae of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

“…Numerous studies have investigated entomopathogenic fungi, conidia, and their chemical components for controlling T. absoluta insect pests, demonstrating their high effectiveness ( Zekeya et al, 2019 ; Bali and Singla, 2022 ). The entomopathogenic fungi B. bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae have shown greater virulence against a wide range of medical and agricultural insect pests ( Contreras et al, 2014 ; Gebremariam et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Bapfubusa Niyibizi et al, 2023 ; Sharma et al, 2023 ; Swathy et al, 2023 ; Vivekanandhan et al, 2023 ). The cuticle-degrading enzyme chitinase, derived from the entomopathogenic fungi B. bassiana , exhibited remarkable insecticidal activity within 5 days against larvae of B. dorsalis ( Ullah et al, 2023 ).…”

Novel report on soil infection with Metarhizium rileyi against soil‐dwelling life stages of insect pests

“…Moreover, the utilization of synthetic chemical pesticides has been found to have detrimental effects on the ecological balance, human well-beings, and soil composition [9]. Currently, researchers are actively investigating the biologically derived pesticide that possess characteristics such as ecological compatibility, efficacy, specificity, and environmental friendliness [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21].…”