Integration of Entomopathogenic Fungi into IPM Programs: Studies Involving Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) Affecting Horticultural Crops

Abstract

Weevils are significant pests of horticultural crops and are largely managed with insecticides. In response to concerns about negative impacts of synthetic insecticides on humans and the environment, entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have been developed as an alternative method of control, and as such appear to be “ready-made” components of integrated pest management (IPM) programs. As the success of pest control requires a thorough knowledge of the biology of the pests, this review summarises our current knowledge of weevil biology on nut trees, fruit crops, plant storage roots, and palm trees. In addition, three groups of life cycles are defined based on weevil developmental habitats, and together with information from studies of EPF activity on these groups, we discuss the tactics for integrating EPF into IPM programs. Finally, we highlight the gaps in the research required to optimise the performance of EPF and provide recommendations for the improvement of EPF efficacy for the management of key weevils of horticultural crops.

Type Strains of Entomopathogenic Nematode-Symbiotic Bacterium Species, Xenorhabdus szentirmaii (EMC) and X. budapestensis (EMA), Are Exceptional Sources of Non-Ribosomal Templated, Large-Target-Spectral, Thermotolerant-Antimicrobial Peptides (by Both), and Iodinin (by EMC)

“…Similar to the research trends on entomopathogenic fungi [33,34], those related to EPN/EPB symbiotic associations have been restricted to biological insect pest control tools for sustainable agriculture [35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47].…”

Occurrence of soil-inhabiting entomopathogenic fungi within a conventional and organic farm and their virulence against Spodoptera litura

“…Since the 1960s, entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) have been viewed as excellent biocontrol agents in the regulation of phytophagous insect and mite populations in agroecosystems (Li et al 2010;Nelly et al 2019;Khun et al 2020;Islam et al 2021). The pest control efficacy of various EPF species has been reported in Hypocreales (Ascomycota), but not limited to Beauveria (Mascarin and Jaronski 2016;Harith-Fadzilah et al 2021), Metarhizium (Aw and Hue 2017;Brunner-Mendoza et al 2019), and Paecilomyces (Moreno-gavíra et al 2020).…”

Transmission of Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana to adults of Kuschelorhynchus macadamiae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) from infected adults and conidiated cadavers

“…Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) have cosmopolitan distributions 7 , 8 and are commonly isolated from insects and soil using selective media and insect baits (such as Galleria mellonella L. and Tenebrio molitor L.), respectively 9 , 10 . Various studies have shown the potential of fungal entomopathogens for controlling many economically important weevils affecting horticultural crops 11 – 13 . In our previous study, entomopathogenic fungi looked promising for the control of K. macadamiae 14 .…”