Selection of entomopathogenic nematodes for the control of the fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

Entomopathogenic nematodes are considered excellent biological control agents, with greater potential against soil insect pests and pests of cryptic environments. The fruit fly Ceratitis capitata is considered one of the main fruit crop pests worldwide. This insect stays in the soil during a phase of life, where it becomes a target for entomopathogenic nematodes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the pathogenicity and virulence of entomopathogenic nematodes on C. capitata. The bioassays were organized with four replications, containing 10 individuals; 1 mL of a nematode suspension containing 200 IJ/insect was applied. The most virulent isolates against C. capitata larvae were selected and applied at concentrations of 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 and 400 IJ/insect. All isolates were pathogenic for C. capitata. The S. carpocapsae ALL and Heterorhabditis sp. RSC01 isolates were the most virulent against the larval stage, with mortalities of over 85%. As to the pupal stage, isolates Heterorhabditis sp. PI, Heterorhabditis sp. JPM4, H. bacteriophora HP88, S. feltiae and S. glaseri were the best, with mortalities ranging between 35 and 44%.Key words: biological control, mediterranean fruit fly, pathogenicity Seleção de nematoides entomopatogênicos visando ao controle da mosca das frutas Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) RESUMONematoides entomopatogênicos são considerados excelentes agentes de controle biológico demonstrando maior potencialidade em insetos-praga de solo e de ambientes crípticos. A mosca das frutas Ceratitis capitata é considerada uma das principais pragas para a fruticultura mundial. Este inseto passa uma fase de sua vida no solo, tornando-se alvo em potencial para esses entomopatógenos. Assim, teve-se como objetivo avaliar a patogenicidade e a virulência de nematoides entomopatogênicos sobre C. capitata. Os bioensaios foram realizados com quatro repetições contendo 10 indivíduos e aplicado 1 mL de suspensão de nematoides com 200 JI/inseto. Os isolados que se apresentaram mais virulentos para larvas de C. capitata foram selecionados e aplicados nas concentrações de 0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 e 400 JI/inseto. Verificou-se que todos os isolados foram patogênicos para C. capitata. Os isolados S. carpocapsae ALL e Heterorhabditis sp. RSC01 foram os mais virulentos para a fase larval causando mortalidade superior a 85%. Em relação à fase de pupa os isolados Heterorhabditis sp. PI, Heterorhabditis sp. JPM4, H.

Assessment of the entomopathogenic nematodes against maggots and pupae of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), under laboratory conditions

“…Lindegren and Vail (1986) recorded 92% mortality rate when they applied the concentration of 5000 IJs/insect and only 9% mortality rate after application with 50 IJs/insect. Similar results were obtained by other researchers against different insect species (Laborda et al 2003;Almeida et al 2007;Malan et al 2011 andRohde et al 2012). Similarly, S. carpocapsae and S. feltiae were found to be the most efficacious species under laboratory, semi-field, and field conditions with larval mortality of 88, 78, and 88%, respectively, of European cherry fruit fly, while no mortality of pupae was observed (Köppler et al 2003).…”

Virulence of nematodes against larvae of the south-American fruit fly in laboratory using soil from Porto Amazonas, Paraná, Brazil, as substrate

“…Insect mortality usually falls down after EPN concentration over an optimal point because of IJ competition (ROHDE et al, 2012). However, this work did not report decrease in control efficiency of S. carpocapsae CB 02 against A. fraterculus larvae, corroborating the observation by RODRIGUES-TRENTINI (1996).…”

Isolation of entomopathogenic nematodes in an apple orchard in Southern Brazil and its virulence to Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) larvae, under laboratory conditions

“…They were used in an experiment completely random designed, with five repetitions composed by a nine-centimeter Petri dishes (Rohde et al, 2012) with 12 larvae, in a dark climatic chamber (24±2 °C, U.R. 70±10%).…”

“…In this work, for convenience, all isolated are called EPN, including Oscheius. EPNs have been studied as biocontrolers candidate of several fruit flies species (Lezama-Gutiérrez et al, 2006;Barbosa-Negrisoli et al, 2009;Rohde et al, 2012;Toledo et al, 2014). However, few studies at orchard condition were found in the literature and even less works reporting EPNs natural occurrence.…”