Abstract
BackgroundThe Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) is an insect pest species responsible for damages of citrus fruit quality and tree health. This insect is a vector of bacteria ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ spp. a putative causal agent of citrus greening disease known as Huanglongbing (HLB), considered one of the most destructive diseases of citrus orchards worldwide. Disease management is mainly based on vector control using pesticides which can affect natural enemies that play an important role in pest control. The entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) Beauveria bassiana (2067 and 2121) and Metarhizium anisopliae (2411) were achieved by applying a suspension of 1 × 107 spores against D. citri nymphs and artificially infected the citrus seedlings under controlled and semi-field conditions. Also, the activity of these EPFs on the coccinellid and lacewing predators was evaluated. The effects of the main chemicals used in citrus plantations on the selected fungi for possible combined use was also investigated.ResultsThe obtained results showed that under controlled conditions, the percentage of insect mortality produced by EPF varied between 82.8 and 85.9%. Under semi-field conditions, the infection and mortality of D. citri caused by the M. anisopliae 2411 strain was significantly higher than that of B. bassiana 2067, 78.9 and 51%, respectively. Non-significant effect of EPF on the natural enemies of D. citri was observed, suggesting that EPF and predators had compatible effects.ConclusionThis study clearly demonstrated that EPF were able to kill D. citri and can be explored as a promissory biocontrol candidate. Simultaneous use in an integrated pest management program could be possible by applying EPF combined with pesticides.
Highlights
The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) is an insect pest species responsible for damages of citrus fruit quality and tree health
D. citri is a vector of bacteria ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ spp., a putative causative agent of citrus greening disease, known as Huanglongbing (HLB), considered one of Corallo et al Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control (2021) 31:15 the most destructive diseases of citrus worldwide (Bové 2006)
Under controlled conditions, the percentage of insect mortality produced after a single application of the entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) that evaluated on the 5th day and varied between 82.8 and 85.9% compared to 20.8% of mortality in the controls (Table 1)
Summary
The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) is an insect pest species responsible for damages of citrus fruit quality and tree health. This insect is a vector of bacteria ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ spp. a putative causal agent of citrus greening disease known as Huanglongbing (HLB), considered one of the most destructive diseases of citrus orchards worldwide. Disease management is mainly based on vector control using pesticides which can affect natural enemies that play an important role in pest control. The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae), is a sap-sucking insect pest species, responsible for direct or indirect damages of citrus fruit quality and tree health. Their spores can be dispersed by biotic or abiotic factors, as horizontal transmission is possible and epizootics in the field can occur (Conceschi et al 2016)
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