Effect of Metarhizium anisopliae (Clavicipitaceae) on Rhagoletis mendax (Diptera: Tephritidae) pupae and adults

Abstract

Blueberry maggot (Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae)) is a pest of blueberries (Vaccinium Linnaeus (Ericaceae)). Tephritid flies, including Rhagoletis Loew species, are susceptible to entomopathogenic fungi, but mortality levels depend on life stage targeted. We tested Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) (Clavicipitaceae) strain S54 by application to pupae in the laboratory and using soil drenches in the laboratory and field. We hypothesised that younger (pre-diapause) pupae would be more susceptible to infection than older (post-diapause) pupae. In the laboratory, R. mendax emergence was reduced from 80% in the control to 57–60% with M. anisopliae. Rhagoletis mendax longevity was reduced by two days for both application timings, and mycosed cadavers increased by 9% and 27% with applications to younger and older pupae, respectively, compared to controls. In the field, R. mendax emergence was reduced by 50% with application to younger pupae compared to controls and applications to older pupae. The surfactant Silwet L77 caused reduced R. mendax emergence when pupae were dipped in suspensions. Even though M. anisopliae S54 did not greatly reduce emergence or longevity, infection was successful and younger pupae may be more susceptible than older pupae. Research with other M. anisopliae isolates against multiple life stages should be conducted and effects of soil variables on pathogenicity determined.

Efficacy of bio-pesticide Lecanicillium lecanii against soybean-sucking bugs Riptortus linearis during field application

“…Nithya and Rani (2019) reported that addition of a surfactant combination (polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, glycerol, and tween-80) on three formulations (I: chitin enriched groundnut oil/CGNO + adjuvant combination/AC 1; II: -CGNO + AC 2; and III: CGNO + AC 3) are capable of improving L. lecanii biopesticide efficacy toward Bemisia tabaci, Amrasca biguttula, and Tetranychus sp. Similar studies on the surfactant addition into the oil formulation to enhance the effectiveness of entomopathogenic fungi have also been extensively reported (Oliveira et al 2018;Arnosti et al 2019;Renkema et al 2020).…”

Deterrent Effects of Essential Oils on Spotted-Wing Drosophila (Drosophila suzukii): Implications for Organic Management in Berry Crops

“…A major hurdle to implementing botanical products for horticultural pest control is the uncertainty around how to effectively utilize volatile compounds in the field (e.g., volatilization rate, application method, and impact on infestation in small fruit) and economic feasibility. Of the few studies that have investigated essential oil deterrence in situ, methods for deploying the essential oils range from spray applications, wicking materials [40], polymer flakes [41] to intercropping with fragrant plant species [48,49]. Intercropping strawberries with peppermint plants that were periodically mowed to increase the amount of volatiles has been shown to actually increase the amount of SWD infestation in the fruit, potentially due to providing additional shaded habitat for SWDs during the day [49].…”

“…Of the few studies that have investigated essential oil deterrence in situ, methods for deploying the essential oils range from spray applications, wicking materials [40], polymer flakes [41] to intercropping with fragrant plant species [48,49]. Intercropping strawberries with peppermint plants that were periodically mowed to increase the amount of volatiles has been shown to actually increase the amount of SWD infestation in the fruit, potentially due to providing additional shaded habitat for SWDs during the day [49]. The greatest challenge to implementing an effective deterrent management tactic will be maintaining biologically relevant amounts of VOCs in the field.…”

Efficacy of Metarhizium anisopliae against the Greater Pumpkin Fly Dacus bivitattus

“…Both D. bivitattus and ICIPE 18 are native to Africa and, therefore, share a similar evolutionary history, while Z. cucurbitae is an alien pest of Asian origin, which could explain this discrepancy. Metarhizium anisopliae isolates were reported to caused a significant reduction in eclosion in other fruit fly species such as C. capitata, C. fasciventris, C. cosyra [26] and the blueberry maggot fly Rhagoletis mendax Curran [43]. When evaluated in cages under field conditions, a granular formulation of ICIPE 20 was found to reduce the eclosion of C. capitata, C. fasciventris and C. cosyra by 37-54%, and it would be interesting to investigate eclosion reduction in the most promising isolates against D. bivittatus under field conditions.…”