Abstract
In the recent years, the keen interest has been increased towards biological control-based management practices using entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) for the control of many economically important insects. In this management practices, selection of right strains of EPF is an important criteria to control the target pests in effective manner. In this context, this research work was formulated to find out environmentally effective strains of EPF in the soils of costal districts of Andhra Pradesh. Out of 135 soil samples collected, 8 soil samples yielded 8 strains of Metarhizium anisopliae. Among all 8 M. anisopliae isolates, the least median lethal concentration (LC50) for 2nd instar of the tobacco caterpillar, Spodoptera litura (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was 1.24 × 105 spores ml-1 in M-7, followed by 1.72 × 105 spores ml-1 in M-5 and 1.86 × 105 spores ml-1 in M-4 in an increasing order. Likewise, the median lethal time (LT50) values of different isolates of EPF against 2nd instar of S.litura were calculated for a uniform highest dose of 1 × 108 spores ml−1. Among all 8 M. anisopliae isolates, the lowest LT50 was observed as 186.44 hours post infection (hpi) with M-5 and 189.34 hpi with M-7.
Highlights
Soil is an important reservoir for entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) as it protects them from degradation by UV light
The EPF were isolated from agricultural land, followed by barren land in the order of occurrence of fungi in the soil, and orchard/forest land occupied the last rank in the sequence
Several authors reported that M. anisopliae is dominant in the soil from cultivated fields; it was rarely found from natural habitats (Meyling et al, 2011)
Summary
Soil is an important reservoir for entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) as it protects them from degradation by UV light. Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), commonly known as tobacco caterpillar, is one of the most destructive insect pests of cauliflower, groundnut, cotton, tomato, cabbage, and other cruciferous crops (Anand and Tiwary, 2009). For combating this pest, one such alternative way is the usage of microbial pesticides with EPF which have key role in sustainable pest management program. In this context, the present research was formulated to identify efficient strains of Metarhizium anisopliae from soil and their pathogenicity against S. litura under laboratory conditions
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