Effects of Entomopathogenic Fungi on the Biology ofSpodoptera litura(Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and its Reduviid Predator,Rhynocoris marginatus(Heteroptera: Reduviidae)

Abstract

Entomopathogenic fungi (EPFs), Isaria fumosorosea and Beauveria bassiana, are efficient biological agents in the management of multiple arthropod pests. In this study, the effects of both EPF species on various life stages of Spodoptera litura (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) and its natural enemy Rhynocoris marginatus (Fab.) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) were determined under laboratory conditions. I. fumosorosea significantly ( P < .05) reduced the growth rate of the third and fourth instar larvae of S. litura. For relative consumption rate (RCR), the maximum impact was recorded for I. fumosorosea, which reduced the RCR of the larvae. The larvae of S. litura treated with I. fumosorosea showed significantly lower efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) and the larval mortality rate (58.0%) was also higher compared with B. bassiana (33.3%). Similarly, I. fumosorosea had a significant effect on the pupal formation of S. litura; however, no significant effect was found on adult emergence percentage. To determine the effect of EPF-infected prey on the adult predator, their handling time, predatory rate, consumption rate, and the survival rate were recorded. No significant effect of EPF species on the predation rate was found. Furthermore, no significant difference was found in the survival rate of predators fed on either EPF-infected prey or healthy larvae. The interaction of these EPFs with a reduviid predator suggested that both EPF species, especially I. fumosorosea, could be used together with the predator to boost the biological control of S. litura in commercial crops.

Larvicidal toxicity of Metarhizium anisopliae metabolites against three mosquito species and non-targeting organisms

“…This study has shown that, in unpolluted environment several beneficial and economical species of microbial community can be found including entomopathogenic fungi which have shown to have mortality effect to mosquito vector species and less effect to non-targeted organisms. These findings are similar to previous studies which showed toxicity effect to variety of arthropods [17][18][19]. At present, there is a better consideration of the use of microbial-…”

Pathogenicity induced by indigenous Beauveria bassiana isolate in different life stages of the cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under laboratory conditions

“…These results were in line with Nguyen et al (2007) who found that B. bassiana also showed a high reduction in adult emergence from pupae of Helicoverpa armigera using the soil inoculation method and the pupal immersion technique. On the other hand, Ullah et al (2019) found that B. bassiana had insignificant effect on the adult emergence rate of S. litura. Also, Asi et al (2013) expressed the highly resistant behavior of pupae toward fungal infection than other developmental stages of S. litura.…”

Management of the aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) and the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius), using biorational on capsicum under protected cultivation in India

“…Management of the sucking insect pests is mainly by chemical insecticides but their excessive and indiscriminate use has led to insecticide resistance and residue problems apart from health hazards (Pilkington et al 2010 andPappas et al 2013). Various parasitoids, predators, pathogens, and botanicals are being exploited for management of these pests (Ali et al 2017 andUllah et al 2019). Management of insect pests using entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) is regarded as an important alternative method for organic cultivation of vegetables under protected conditions (Manfrino et al 2014 andAli et al 2018).…”