Microbial Control of Cabbage Maggot-Preliminary Screenings of Fungal Isolates, 1995

Abstract

Abstract Adult CM were exposed to dry conidia of isolates of Beauvaria bassiana (Bb), Metarhizium anisopilae (Ma) or Paeciomyces fumosoroseus (Pf). Two B. bassiana isolates were from Cornell University (P89, L90) isolated from Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae), one was from Mycoteh Corp., Butte, MT (Myc 726) originally isolated from southern corn rootworm, Diabrotica undecimpuntata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), re-isolated from a grasshopper, Melanoplus sp. (Orthoptera:Acrididae), and then re-isolated from silverleaf whitefly, Bemesia argentiflora (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae). The other isolates were from the USDA-ARS Collection of Entomophagous Fungal Cultures. One B. bassiana isolate, 4012, was isolated from Delia radicum (Diptera: Anthomyiidae). The P. fumosoroseus isolates were number 1626 from M. autumnalis (Diptera: Muscidae), 1644, 1645, 1867 and 1868 from M. domestica, 1646 from Calliphora spp. (Diptera: Calliphoridae), and 887 from unidentified Diptera. The M. anisopilae isolates were 2521 from Deois spp. (Homoptera: Cercopidae), 3540 from Gelleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and 4862 and 4865 from soil. Flies from rearings at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Geneva, NY, were exposed to the fungi by placing 5 flies in a centrifuge tube containing conidia scraped directly from culture plates. The flies were then released into small screened plastic cages, which were placed in chambers with constant temperature of 21° C and L:D 15: 9. There were 3 replicates. Mortality was assessed after 48, 120 and 160h. Dead flies were placed in petri dishes with moistened filter paper to assess infection.