Abstract
Abstract Knowledge of the composition and distribution of native entomopathogenic fungal species are essential to evaluate the potential of biological control in a given ecosystem. In this study, 10 soil samples were collected in two
Highlights
The soil environment is an important reservoir for a wide variety of entomopathogenic fungi, which can significantly contribute to the control of insect populations, including agricultural and forest pests [19]
In the selective Martin medium (p=0.0024) more colony forming units (CFUs) were observed in the rainy season (3.81 logCFU g-1 soil) compared to the dry season, which showed a lower number of CFU (3.77 logCFU g-1 soil)
Martin showed a significantly higher (p=0.0000) average of CFUs than the Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) supplemented with integument of T. molitor both in the rainy (3.81 and 3.67 logCFU g-1 soil, respectively) and the dry seasons (3.77 and 3.70 logCFU g-1 soil, respectively)
Summary
The soil environment is an important reservoir for a wide variety of entomopathogenic fungi, which can significantly contribute to the control of insect populations, including agricultural and forest pests [19]. The occurrence and distribution of entomopathogenic fungi in soils have been widely investigated [27,30]. (formally known as Paecilomyces) are especially common and have the greatest potential for use in biological control [51]. Two methods are generally used to detect entomopathogenic fungi in soil. The principal advantage of this method is the selective isolation of entomopathogenic fungi that are biologically active [22]. The plating method using various selective media [10,25,37] is advantageous when quantification is required or when the material to be analyzed is not soil
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