Pathogenicity of the entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. endophytic and a soil isolate against the squash beetle, Epilachna chrysomelina (F.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

• Published in: Egyptian journal of biological pest control Vol. 29; no. 1; pp. 1 - 7
• Main Authors: Hassan, Feyroz Ramadan, Abdullah, Samir Khalaf, Assaf, Lazgeen Haji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 25.11.2019; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Adults; Beauveria bassiana; Bioassays; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Coccinellidae; Coleoptera; Conidia; Endophyte; Endophytes; Entomopathogenic fungi; Epilachna; Epilachna borealis; Epilachna chrysomelina; Fungi; Instars; Iraq; Larvae; Life Sciences; Mortality; Pathogenicity; Pathogens; Soil; Soils; Zoology; Pathogenicity; Soil; Endophyte; Iraq
• ISSN: 2536-9342; 1110-1768; 2536-9342
• DOI: 10.1186/s41938-019-0169-x

Laboratory and field bioassays were conducted to evaluate the pathogenicity of an endophytic and a soil isolate of the entomopathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. against different stages of squash beetle, Epilachna chrysomelina (F.) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). Both isolates were identified by ITS rDNA sequence analysis. Both isolates were pathogenic to the squash beetle; however, their potential was different according to the conidia concentration and the exposure period. Three days post treatment, (100%) mortality rate was obtained, when the first and second larval instars were treated by the B. bassiana ES (soil isolate) compared to 83.67 and 72.60%, respectively when treated with the endophytic isolate. A percentage of 17.67% malformation occurred among the adults that emerged from treated pupae. The highest mortality percentage under field conditions were 28.67 and 22.33% for larvae and adults, respectively.