Abstract
BackgroundLitchi stink-bug, Tessaratoma papillosa Drury (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae), is one of the most widespread and destructive pest species on Litchi chinensis Sonn and Dimocarpus longan Lour in Southern China. Inappropriate use of chemical pesticides has resulted in serious environmental problems and food pollution. Generating an improved Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy for litchi stink-bug in orchard farming requires development of an effective biological control agent. Entomopathogenic fungi are regarded as a vital ecological factor in the suppression of pest populations under field conditions. With few effective fungi and pathogenic strains available to control litchi stink-bug, exploration of natural resources for promising entomopathogenic fungi is warranted.Methods & ResultsIn this study, two pathogenic fungi were isolated from cadavers of adult T. papillosa. They were identified as Paecilomyces lilacinus and Beauveria bassiana by morphological identification and rDNA-ITS homogeneous analysis. Infection of T. papillosa with B. bassiana and P. lilacinus occurred initially from the antennae, metameres, and inter-segmental membranes. Biological tests showed that the two entomopathogenic fungi induced high mortality in 2nd and 5th instar nymphs of T. papillosa. B. bassiana was highly virulent on 2nd instar nymphs of T. papillosa, with values for cadaver rate, LC50 and LT50 of 88.89%, 1.92 × 107 conidia/mL and 4.34 days respectively.DiscussionThis study provides two valuable entomopathogenic fungi from T. papillosa. This finding suggests that the highly virulent P. lilacinus and B. bassiana play an important role in the biocontrol of T. papillosa in China. These pathogenic fungi had no pollution or residue risk, and could provide an alternative option for IPM of litchi stink-bug.
Highlights
Litchi stink-bug, Tessaratoma papillosa Drury (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae), is a major pest on Litchi chinensis Sonn and Dimocarpus longan Lour in South East Asia and SouthernHow to cite this article Meng et al (2017), The isolation and identification of pathogenic fungi from Tessaratoma papillosa Drury (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae)
Morphological identification indicated that strain Ta-01 strain is Paecilomyces lilacinus and strain Ta-02 is Beauveria bassiana (Junior et al, 1997; Fang, Zhang & Liu, 2001; Li, Liu & Huang, 2004; Lu et al, 2007)
The results show that the LT50 for B. bassiana on 2nd instar nymphs of T. papillosa was 4.34 days, which was significantly lower than the LT50 values for P. lilacinus
Summary
Litchi stink-bug, Tessaratoma papillosa Drury (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae), is a major pest on Litchi chinensis Sonn and Dimocarpus longan Lour in South East Asia and SouthernHow to cite this article Meng et al (2017), The isolation and identification of pathogenic fungi from Tessaratoma papillosa Drury (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae). Litchi stink-bug, Tessaratoma papillosa Drury (Hemiptera: Tessaratomidae), is one of the most widespread and destructive pest species on Litchi chinensis Sonn and Dimocarpus longan Lour in Southern China. This study provides two valuable entomopathogenic fungi from T. papillosa This finding suggests that the highly virulent P. lilacinus and B. bassiana play an important role in the biocontrol of T. papillosa in China. These pathogenic fungi had no pollution or residue risk, and could provide an alternative option for IPM of litchi stink-bug
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