Abstract
Date palm dust mites are important pests severely infesting valuable nutritious fruits (dates) of date palm. In search of an alternative to acaricides, joint action of Metarhizium anisopliae EBCL 02049 spores and 1-Chlorooctadecane was evaluated as a potential candidate for the management of Oligonychus afrasiaticus through natural products. In this regard, in vitro tests were performed to evaluate the interaction of M. anisopliae spores with multiple doses of 1-Chlorooctadecane (0.8, 1.6, 2.4, 3.2, and 4.0 mg/mL). Compatibility bioassay results evidenced from vegetative growth (77.7–84.40 mm), sporulation (5.50–7.30 × 106 spores/mL), and germination (96.70–98.20%), revealed that all the tested doses are compatible (biological index > 82) with the spores of M. anisopliae. The impact of combined treatment of spores with 1-Chlorooctadecane in different proportions (Scheme I, II, III, and IV) compared to their sole application against O. afrasiaticus was evaluated by concentration–mortality response bioassays. Results showed that all the combined treatments revealed high mortality compared to the sole application, which showed relatively slow mortality response over time. Toxicity recorded from Scheme IV combinations (80% 1-Chlorooctadecane: 20% Spores), exhibited strong synergistic interaction (joint toxicity = 713). Furthermore, potent interactions have overcome the host antioxidant defense at the final stage of infection by tremendously reducing catalase, and superoxide dismutase activities. These experiments demonstrated fungal–toxin joint synergistic interaction as a promising date palm dust mite management option.
Highlights
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of the oldest domesticated fruit trees with unique nutritional characteristics and great socioeconomic importance for the Middle East and North African countries.This cash crop, in addition to commercial and nutritional values, can successfully be grown in the deserts because of minimum water requirement and highly tolerance to salinity and harsh weather conditions [1]
The mortality data of the date palm dust mites in the present study indicated that the sole application of M. anisopliae EBCL 02049 produced relatively slow mortality and failed to kill all the tested populations
Slow mortality response of date palm dust mites is in line with what was previously reported against this strain of M. anisopliae EBCL 02049 [16]
Summary
Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of the oldest domesticated fruit trees with unique nutritional characteristics and great socioeconomic importance for the Middle East and North African countries. This cash crop, in addition to commercial and nutritional values, can successfully be grown in the deserts because of minimum water requirement and highly tolerance to salinity and harsh weather conditions [1]. O. afrasiaticus (Acari: Tetranychidae) is considered a major pest of date palms in Saudi Arabia. The weather conditions prevailing in the Kingdom and neighboring countries including Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, and Egypt greatly favor O. afrasiaticus growth and development
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