Abstract
Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) is among the most important fruit pests in South America, and the use of entomopathogenic fungi is considered a promising alternative for its control. The objective of this work was to evaluate the pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin on larvae and pupae of A. fraterculus, along with fungal effects on adult fly longevity. Fungal inoculations, fly larvae or pupae were placed in Petri dishes with 1 mL/plate, and the concentrations of 10, 15, 20 and 25 grams of commercial product/liter of water. Controls received water only. To evaluate the residual effect on adult flies, emerging adults were transferred to clean arenas and the adult longevity was monitored. Beauveria bassiana and M. anisopliae caused 93.3 and 96.7% larval mortality and 14.0 and 15.0% pupal mortality, respectively. The estimated LC50 and LC90 values were 22.56 and 40.87 g/L for B. bassiana, and of 23.45 and 42.02 g/L for M. anisopliae. Infected adult insects had shorter longevity than non-infected insects, with mean survival of 8.0 and 83.5 days for B. bassiana and M. anisopliae, respectively.
Highlights
The fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann 1830) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is among the most important fruit fly pests in South America, infesting more than 100 species of both native and exotic plants (Hendrichs, Vera, De Meyer, & Clarke, 2015; Zucchi, 2017)
In view of the damage that A. fraterculus causes to many economically important fruit species and the potential efficiency of entomopathogenic fungi as part of an Integrated Pest Manegement (IPM) approach, the present study aimed to evaluate the pathogenicity of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae on larvae and pupae of A. fraterculus and lasting effect on adult longevity
The B. bassiana (BOVERIL® WP PL63) and M. anisopliae (METARRIL® WP E9) isolates showed high conidial viability and significant mortality of A. fraterculus pupae and adults. These results were similar to previous work with insects of the genus Anastrepha, when M. anisopliae caused 98.7% mortality in A. ludens (Loew) larvae (Lezama-Gutiérrez et al, 2000), 86.0% in A. fraterculus immatures (2.52 × 1010 conidia/gram of soil) (Destéfano et al, 2005), and 66.0% in Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) adults (1 × 107 conidia/mL) (Osorio-Fajardo & Canal, 2011)
Summary
The fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann 1830) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is among the most important fruit fly pests in South America, infesting more than 100 species of both native and exotic plants (Hendrichs, Vera, De Meyer, & Clarke, 2015; Zucchi, 2017). Among the fruit fly control techniques, the use of chemical insecticides is the most frequent, due to high toxicity these products are less desirable, long no-entry periods and low selectivity toward natural enemies (Garcia, Brida, Martins, Abeijon, & Lutinski, 2017). An alternative control for these pests is the use of biological organisms which are efficient, have low environmental impacts and can be combined with other control techniques in an Integrated Pest Management Program (Lenteren, Bolckmans, Kohl, Ravensberg, & Urbaneja, 2017). Entomopathogenic fungi stand out as a control alternative due to easy application, efficient pest control in the short time, and safety toward man and the environment (Sinha, Choudhary, & Kumari, 2016). Among the most commonly used fungi in pest control are Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) which can affect the different stages of the pest development (Butt, Coates, Dubovskiy, & Ratcliffe, 2016)
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