Abstract
The north-western Indian Himalayan hill region contains around 40 phytophagous species of white grub (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Anomala dimidiata and Holotrichia seticollis are the predominant species. Under natural conditions, up to one-fifth of the population of the grubs was found to exhibit symptoms of bacterial infection. Therefore, we attempted to isolate and characterize the most potent bacterium for the management of white grubs. Of 27 bacterial isolates tested against A. dimidiata, WGPSB-2 was found to be highly toxic. Based on morphology, physiology, biochemistry and sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene, the isolate WGPSB-2 was identified as Bacillus cereus. A dose determination bioassay indicated that first instar grubs of A. dimidiata and H. seticollis were more susceptible than second instars. Although the LT90 values for second instar grubs exceeded 8 weeks, the grubs stopped feeding after ingestion of spores, mostly after the third week. In outdoor microplots, a dose of 1.7 × 1010 spores/m2 applied to the root zone was found to be potentially satisfactory for control of the pests. Bacillus cereus isolate WGPSB-2 appears to be a potentially effective bacterial pathogen for the management of white grubs.
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