Insecticidal Activity of the Granulosis Virus in Combination with Neem Products and Talc Powder Against the Potato Tuberworm Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Abstract

The potato tuberworm Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) is an important agricultural pest that causes significant economic losses to potato growers worldwide. The addition of an effective method of biological control for the potato tuberworm is greatly needed, and is currently unavailable in Brazil. The granulosis virus (Baculoviridae) is a promising biological control agent to protect post-harvest potatoes and in storage from the potato tuberworm. However, the control measure must be economically feasible. Liquid suspensions of a granulosis virus applied alone or in mixture with two commercial neem oil-based products (DalNeem™ and NeemAzal™), and a dry powder formulation of viral granules were evaluated for control of potato tuberworm larvae by treating potato tubers under laboratory conditions. High larval mortality (86.7%) was achieved when DalNeem and virus were applied together at 4 mg of azadirachtin/L and 10 4 occlusion bodies (OBs)/mL, respectively. This combination resulted in ≥50% efficacy in relation to their counterparts alone. Conversely, NeemAzal did not enhance virus effectiveness against larvae of the potato tuberworm. The talc-based virus formulation was used for dusting seed tubers at different concentrations and resulted in 100% larval mortality at 5×10 8 OBs/g. Formulated and unformulated virus provided 50% mortality at 166 OBs/g and at 5.0× 10 5 OBs/mL, respectively. As a result, talc-based virus formulation had a better control efficiency on potato tuberworm than the aqueous virus suspension. The granulosis virus combined with DalNeem at low rates or formulated with talc powder is a viable option to control the potato tuberworm under storage conditions.

Enhancing the Efficacy of Certain Spray-Dried Baculovirus (AgipMNPV) against Cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon Hufnagel (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

“…Various compounds have been reported as a potential adjuvant for inclusion in baculovirus formulations to overcome some of the inherent biological limitations, act as feeding stimulants and provide UV protection. Among these compounds optical brighteners, chitinase, boric acid, gums, sugar, pregelatinized flour, lignin, starch, talc, ground maize cob, maize oil and botanical extracts have received some interest as an attempt to enhance the efficacy of baculoviruses, protect from environmental factors that may inactivate it; increased viral persistence, and by accelerating the development of the disease (Mascarin & Delalibera 2012;and Behle et al, 2006).…”

Uso de biorracionales para el control de plagas de hortalizas en el norte de Sinaloa

“…Cuando se utiliza el virus de la granulosis en combinación con neem, la mortalidad de larvas de P. operculella es directamente proporcional a la concentración de ambos productos, la mortalidad fue alta cuando se aplico DalNeem TM (4 mg/L) con el virus de la granulosis (10 4 CO/mL), que cuando fueron aplicados de manera individual, esto debido probablemente a el insecto hospedero, a la concentración del ingrediente activo, al tipo y composición del producto formulado, siendo más efectivo cuando el neem es formulado en talco que en suspensiones acuosas, combinado con concentraciones bajas o medias del virus (Mascarin, et al, 2012).…”

Combined Toxicity of Cannabidiol Oil with Three Bio-Pesticides against Adults of Sitophilus Zeamais, Rhyzopertha Dominica, Prostephanus Truncatus and Trogoderma Granarium

“…The above combinations were tested against adults of Sitophilus zeamais (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Rhyzopertha dominica (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), Prostephanus truncatus (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae), and Trogoderma granarium (Coleoptera: Dermestidae). This study is a follow up on previous similar studies investigating the synergism between biopesticides, and biopesticides and botanicals to enhance toxicity against stored-product pests [26][27][28]. CBD oil and these three biopesticides have never been investigated for their combined action against the four coleopteran pests.…”

“…Two or more biopesticides are often combined to create an enhanced product with a better efficiency or duration [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. However, they may not coexist harmoniously in a mixture and their action is not always additive.…”