Evaluation of the efficacy of three indigenous strains of entomopathogenic nematodes from Meghalaya, India against mustard sawfly, Athalia lugens proxima Klug (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of three indigenous strains of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) from Meghalaya, India, namely Heterorhabditis indica Poinar, Karunakar and David, Steinernema thermophilum Ganguly and Singh, and Steinernema glaseri (Steiner) against the last instar larva of mustard sawfly, Athalia lugens proxima Klug, a serious pest of mustard and radish in India. The larvae of A. lugens proxima were exposed to 10, 25, 50, 75 and 100 infective juveniles (IJs) concentration of each nematode species in Petri dishes. Percentage larval mortality and nematode reproduction in insect larvae was studied. The sawfly larvae were found to be susceptible to all the three EPNs tested, but the degree of susceptibility to infection varied from among nematode species. Based on LC50 value, H. indica was the most pathogenic species. Nevertheless, S. thermophilum and S. glaseri also showed a high insect mortality. This study also revealed that all the three test nematodes are also able to propagate in the host cadaver and produce first generation infective juveniles. However, H. indica produced significantly more number of IJs per insect larva than the other two nematode species. The progeny production was recorded to be the least in case of S. glaseri. In conclusion, our findings suggest that of the three indigenous EPNs studied, H. indica and S. thermophilum have good potential as biological control agents against mustard sawfly, A. lugens proxima.

Efficacy of entomopathogenic nematodes (Rhabditida: Steinernematidae and Heterorhabditidae) on developmental stages of house fly, Musca domestica

“…However, progeny production assay revealed H. indica was significantly greater than that of S. feltiae, S. carpocapsae, S. glasseri, S. abbassi. Moreover, our results of progeny production agree with the data of Mannion and Jansson (1992); Yadav and Lalramliana 2012;Gowda et al (2016) and Patil et al (2016). One possible reason for this difference in EPNs progeny production in M. domestica, may be related to the type of reproduction of Heterorhabditids.…”

Identification of entomopathogenic nematodes and symbiotic bacteria from Nam Nao National Park in Thailand and larvicidal activity of symbiotic bacteria against Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus

“…themophilum and 8.0–25.0% for S . glaseri [ 45 ]. This indicates that each species of EPN responds to different levels of moisture.…”

Assessment of entomopathogenic nematodes and their symbiotic bacteria to control the stink bugs Euschistus heros and Dichelops melacanthus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in the soybean-corn succession system

“…Other studies have also demonstrated this reduction in nematode reproduction at the highest rates of Steinernema sp. (640 IJ/insect), of S. feltiae (Filipjev, 1934) (200-400 IJ/insect), and of S. thermophilum (100 IJ/insect) for larva of Tenebrio molitor (L.) (Baliadi et al 2011), G. mellonella (Rahoo et al 2017), and Athalia lugens proxima (Yadav and Lalramliana 2012), respectively. According to these studies, Correspondences: samanta.nanzer@gmail.com and garrigos.leite@gmail.com the rate that start causing a decrease in nematode reproduction depend on the susceptibility of the host.…”