Abstract
The biological control (BC) is an efficient tool in helping to reduce pests in crops of economic interest. In addition to the efficiency, there are advantages in using biological control agents, such as human safety and other non-target organisms and decreasing pesticide residues. The general aim of this work was to evaluate in vitro the pathogenicity power of fifteen Beauveria bassiana strains aiming the biological control of Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931). Successful infection of entomopathogenic fungi depends primarily on the adherence and penetration ability of a fungus to the host integuments. In addition, scanning electron microscopy was realized. To verify the spore adherence after the spraying tests, insects were collected throughout the bioassays in order to confirm spore evolution on the insect cuticle. In this work, D. suzukii adults were not susceptible to the aqueous suspensions of conidia at concentrations of 108 spores·mL−1 of these strains. There wasn’t death confirmed by fungus extrusion after maintenance in humid chamber.
Highlights
The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) is a polyphagous insect capable of reproducing in more than 60 cultivated and wild plants (Lee, et al, 2015)
The overall survival average was 77.86% among all strains tested on the eighth day of analysis, which means a high survival value of the insect tested against the fifteen strains and, makes it impossible to choose these Beauveria strains to D. suzukii control (Figure 1)
The entomopathogenic action needs to be rapid, to avoid oviposition and direct and indirect fruit damage caused by D. suzukii adults
Summary
The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) is a polyphagous insect capable of reproducing in more than 60 cultivated and wild plants (Lee, et al, 2015). It is a species known to cause direct damage to small fragile integument fruits such as blackberry, cherry, raspberry, blueberry, and strawberry. Such damage is due to the perforations made by females on the fruit surface, during oviposition (Bernardi, et al., 2015). Spotted-wing drosophila can withstand large variations in temperature, but are more suited to mild temperatures, around 20 to 25oC, preferably with high humidity. This climate scenario is found in temperate regions in Brazil and elsewhere in South America. The damage caused by SWD is high due to the presence of eggs and larvae in ripe fruits and their control is hampered by the behavior of larvae, which penetrate the fruit to feed, which facilitates the entry of harmful microorganisms to the fruit, responsible for the rapid rotting of the fruit and consequent loss of commercial viability
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