Insecticidal Action of Several Isolates of Entomopathogenic Fungi against The Granary Weevil <i>Sitophilus granarius</i>

oleh: Spiridon Mantzoukas, Ioannis Lagogiannis, Maria Mpekiri, Ioannis Pettas, Panagiotis A. Eliopoulos

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-10-01

Deskripsi

The insecticidal virulence of various entomopathogenic fungal isolates retrieved from soil samples was tested on adults of the granary weevil <i>Sitophilus granarius</i> (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Bioassays were carried out in the laboratory where experimental adults were sprayed with 1 mL of conidial suspension (10<sup>8</sup> conidia/mL) from each isolate. Mortality was recorded at 7, 14, and 21 days after exposure. Mean mortality, mean lethal time, survival, and hazard effect were estimated for each isolate. Two isolates of <i>Beauveria bassiana</i> (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae), one isolate of <i>Aspergillus insuetus</i> (Bainier) Thom &amp; Church (Eurotiales: Trichocomaceae) and <i>Metarhizium</i> <i>anisopliae</i> (Metschinkoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) resulted in the highest mortality (97&#8722;100%). The isolates with both the highest hazard effect and the lowest survival rate were <i>Aspergillus</i> sp. and <i>M. anisopliae</i>. Our results indicate that entomopathogenic fungi have the potential to become a very useful tool in reducing chemical applications in storage facilities.