Isolation, molecular characterization, and virulence assays of entomopathogenic fungi of Oryctes rhinoceros larvae from Asahan origin

Abstract

Palm oil is the most important plantation commodity in Indonesia. One factor that can suppress oil palm productivity in the field is due to pest attacks, one of which is the attack of the Rhinoceros beetle called Oryctes rhinoceros. This study aims to isolate entomopathogenic fungi found in Oryctes rhinoceros larvae at oil palm plantations in Tanjung Alam Village, Asahan, North Sumatra. The results showed that the fungus isolates had conidia that were greenish and could cause mummification which varied for 7-24 days. The results of molecular identification by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) using ITS1-ITS4 primers showed that the isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi were Metarhizium majus and Metarhizium anisopliae species with DNA bands measuring around 500 base pairs (bp).