Isolation, phenotypic and genotypic characterization of indigenous Beauveria bassiana isolates from date palm infested with Rhynchophorus ferrugineus in Hail region, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus overrun date palm ranches in many parts of Saudi Arabia, henceforth causes massive economic losses. Integrated pest Management (IPM) of the RPW by utilizing Entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana), which has antagonistic activity against many insect pests, was the main objective of the current study. In the present study, soil samples, samples of dead red palm weevils (RPW) and palm fronds were collected according to RPW incidence map of Hail region, Saudi Arabia. Isolates of entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from the dead RPW adults and larvae. The fungal culture (BSA1, BH-2 and BH-3) was preserved and maintained for further analysis. Morphological and biochemical characterization of the antagonist fungi were employed and confi rmed that the fungus belonged to Beauveria spp. Further, this fungal isolates were propagated and prepared for genetic characterization. Sequencing of internal transcribed spacers ( ITS1 and ITS2) region was shown that three polymorphic ITS regions. The molecular identifi cation of the fungus strain was employed at King Faisal Universitythe College of Agriculture and Food Science and confi rmed that the fungus identifi ed as Beauveria bassiana as the fi rst record of this benefi cial species in Hail region.

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

“…Of these, fourteen examined spray application of EPF onto the plant and four evaluated either the injection of EPF into the space between the stem and petiole insertion point, or application of the dried formulated fungi onto the plant crown before or after weevil establishment. Only four papers discussed the natural occurrence and prevalence of EPF in the field, and these papers involved the control of either C. sordidus [ 151 ], H. hampei [ 152 , 153 ] or R. ferrugineus [ 154 ]. The stem injection technique was only applied against R. ferrugineus larvae and pupae, which remain inside the plant [ 131 , 132 , 155 , 156 ], while the spray applications were invariably targeting adult weevils such as A. signatus [ 157 ], C. sordidus [ 97 , 158 ], Cylas spp.…”