Abstract

This study reports the first assessment of endophytic fungi isolated from strawberry leaves and selection of isolates for the control of Duponchelia fovealis, a new pest of strawberries. A total of 400 strawberry leaves of the cultivar 'Albion' were collected in four commercial farms. Leaves were disinfected, cut in fragments, and placed on Petri dishes containing potato dextrose agar media with tetracycline and incubated for 30 days. Following this time, 517 fungal colonies were isolated, and thirteen genera were identified: Cladosporium, Aspergillus, Nigrospora, Fusarium, Trichoderma, Chaetomium, Alternaria, Paecilomyces, Penicillium, Ulocladium, Bipolaris, Diaporthe, and Phoma. Eight isolates belonging to the genera Aspergillus, Diaporthe, Paecilomyces, and Cladosporium were selected for pathogenicity bioassays against third instar larvae of D. fovealis. Isolates of Paecilomyces induced the highest mortality rates.

Highlights

  • The European pepper moth, Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller, 1847), (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is native to marshlands of southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region (CABI, 2016)

  • This study was aimed at identifying endophytic fungi present in strawberry leaves and select isolates for the control of Duponchelia fovealis, a new pest of this crop

  • The genera Aspergillus spp., Paecilomyces spp., Alternaria spp., Penicillium spp. and Cladosporium spp. were separated into two or more morphospecies based on the size of the colony and conidial characteristics

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Summary

Introduction

The European pepper moth, Duponchelia fovealis (Zeller, 1847), (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is native to marshlands of southern Europe and the eastern Mediterranean region (CABI, 2016) This moth is a greenhouse pest of cut flowers, vegetables, and aquatic plants in northern Europe and Canada (CABI, 2016). It has become a pest of strawberries grown commercially in Europe (Bonsignore and Vacante, 2009; Franco and Baptista, 2010; Efil et al, 2014) and South America (Zawadneak et al, 2016). Since strawberries are mostly grown in greenhouses, the control based only on chemical pesticides would result in residues on fruits and impact on the environment (Bernardi et al, 2015). Microorganisms could be a sustainable alternative control method (Gonzalez et al, 2016) with benefits for

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