Abundance of Beauveria spp. and Metarhizium spp. in maize and banana agroecosystems in central Cuba

• Published in: Agronomía colombiana Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 141 - 146
• Main Authors: Ramos, Yordanys, Taibo, Alberto Daniel, Alvarez Vega, Andy Luis, Abreu Lemes, Chabeli, Castañeda-Ruiz, Rafael Felipe, Portal, Orelvis
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Portuguese
• Published: Bogota Universidad Nacional de Colombia 01.04.2022; Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Facultad de Agronomía; Centro Editorial of Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad Nacional de Colombia
• Subjects: Abundance; Agricultural ecosystems; AGRONOMY; Arthropods; Baiting; Baits; Beauveria; Corn; Entomopathogenic fungi; Epizootics; fungal diversity; Fungi; insect bait method; Insect ecology; Insects; Metarhizium; Organic matter; Organic soils; Pest control; Pests; Rhizosphere; Selective media; selective medium; Soil microorganisms; Soil organic matter; Cuba; medio selectivo; método del insecto cebo; entomopathogenic fungi; fungal diversity; insect bait method; selective medium; hongos entomopatógenos; diversidad fúngica
• ISSN: 0120-9965; 2357-3732
• DOI: 10.15446/agron.colomb.v40n1.100886

Entomopathogenic fungi are an ecological alternative for the control of agricultural pests. These fungi live in organic matter in the soil and can cause natural epizootics in many arthropods associated with the rhizosphere. The aim of this study was to evaluate the abundance of Beauveria and Metarhizium spp. in maize and banana agroecosystems in central Cuba. Selective medium and insect baiting methods were used to isolate the entomopathogenic fungi from the soil. Metarhizium spp. were significantly more abundant than Beauveria spp. in both types of fields of agroecosystems. The abundance of Metarhizium spp. was higher in Sagua la Grande than in Santa Clara and Camajuaní municipalities. The insect bait method resulted as the most successful way to isolate entomopathogenic fungi from soil. These results show the composition of the entomopathogenic fungi in different agroecosystems, and they are an advance in the understanding of their ecology.