Abstract
Serratia entomophila, a Gram negative non spore forming bacteria, is commercially exploited as biocontrol agent of pasture pest, grass grub (Costelytra zealandica, Coleoptera) in New Zealand as soil inoculants. As an exception, the strain S. entomophilaAB2 used in this study is having insecticidal property against pod borer (Heliothisarmigera, Lepidoptera), a phyllospheric pest. Expermental results showed high rate of mortality when the pests were fed with shoot portion of ground nut developed from bacteria treated seeds. Antifungal property of S. entomophila AB2 was recorded when tested in vivo using different parts of plant developed from bacteria treated and untreated seeds. In the present study, the systemic infestation was understood by isolation and enumeration of the inoculant from different plant tissues in specific medium and an increment in number within the tissues was also observed. This is the first report of systemic spreading of S. entomophila in plant parts to provide protection against insect and fungal pests. Key words: Systemic infestation, biocontrol, insect pest, plant pathogenic fungi, Serratia entomophila.
Highlights
As a natural biocontrol agent against grass grub Costelytra zealandica (Coleoptera), Serratia entomophila was first reported by Grimont et al (1988) and thereafter by Jackson et al (1992), Glare et al (1993), NunezValdez and Mahanty (1996), Hurst et al (2007) and Young et al (2009)
High mortality rate was recorded in Batch No 4 (90%) and No 5 (87%) of experimental larvae, fed with roots/shoots of bacteria treated seeds in comparison to Batch No.2 (7%) and No 3 (7%) where experimental larvae were fed with roots/shoots of bacteria untreated seeds
While the lowest mortality rate was recorded in Batch No 1 of experimental larvae fed with commercial diet. These results clearly indicate that the shoot bits and root bits derived from bacteria treated seeds are with sufficient inoculants (S. entomophila AB2 population) to
Summary
As a natural biocontrol agent against grass grub Costelytra zealandica (Coleoptera), Serratia entomophila was first reported by Grimont et al (1988) and thereafter by Jackson et al (1992), Glare et al (1993), NunezValdez and Mahanty (1996), Hurst et al (2007) and Young et al (2009). A Mexican strain (S. entomophila Mor4.1) was found to be active against another white grub, Phyllophaga blanchardi (Coleoptera) by Nunez-Valdez et al (2008). The pathogenic strains of pasture pests make them effective for pest control by rhizospheric application. S. entomophila AB2 is known to attack Lepidopteron pest in the phyllosphere (Chattopadhyay et al, 2012). It is important to study whether, the rhizospheric application of the strain AB2 could provide an effective protection against Lepidopteron pest
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