Endophytic Beauveria bassiana in banana ( Musa spp.) reduces banana weevil ( Cosmopolites sordidus) fitness and damage

The effect of endophytic Beauveria bassiana in banana ( Musa spp.) plants against the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus was examined in a screenhouse study in Uganda. Tissue-cultured banana plants (cv. Kibuzi, genome group EA-AAA) were inoculated by dipping roots in a B. bassiana suspension of 1.5...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inCrop protection Vol. 27; no. 11; pp. 1437 - 1441
Main Authors Akello, J., Dubois, T., Coyne, D., Kyamanywa, S.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2008
[Amsterdam]: Elsevier Science
Subjects
bananas
Beauveria bassiana
biological control
biological control agents
conidia
Cosmopolites sordidus
Endophyte
endophytes
Entomopathogen
entomopathogenic fungi
insect pests
larvae
micropropagation
mortality
Musa
plant damage
plant pests
Uganda
Beauveria bassiana
Entomopathogen
Endophyte
Musa
Cosmopolites sordidus
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Summary:The effect of endophytic Beauveria bassiana in banana ( Musa spp.) plants against the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus was examined in a screenhouse study in Uganda. Tissue-cultured banana plants (cv. Kibuzi, genome group EA-AAA) were inoculated by dipping roots in a B. bassiana suspension of 1.5 × 10 7 conidia/ml for 2 h. C. sordidus larvae were introduced 2 months later. Two weeks after larval infestation, endophytic B. bassiana significantly reduced larval survivorship (23.5–88.9% mycosis), resulting in 42.0–86.7% reduction of plant damage. This study has demonstrated for the first time that endophytic B. bassiana can be used to target the cryptic and damaging stage of C. sordidus, and offers an alternative, effective delivery mechanism for this biological control agent.
Bibliography:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2008.07.003
ISSN:0261-2194
1873-6904
DOI:10.1016/j.cropro.2008.07.003