Effects of crop type on persistence and control efficacy of Beauveria bassiana against the two spotted spider mite

The influence of five different crops (beans, cucumber, eggplant, maize, and tomato) on persistence and the control efficacy of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin to Tetranychus urticae Koch was investigated. Plants were artificially infested with T. urticae. B. bassiana conidia were suspended i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BioControl (Dordrecht, Netherlands) Netherlands), 2010-12, Vol.55 (6), p.767-776
Main Authors: Gatarayiha, Mutimura C, Laing, Mark D, Miller, Ray M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Animal Biochemistry
Animal Ecology
Araneae
Beans
Beauveria bassiana
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Conidia
Conidial inoculum
Control efficacy
Corn
Crop type
Crops
Cucumbers
Effectiveness
Entomology
Inoculum
Leaves
Life Sciences
Mites
Mortality
Plant Pathology
Solanum melongena
Split-plot design
Spraying
Tetranychus urticae
Tomatoes
Variance analysis
Vegetables
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Summary:The influence of five different crops (beans, cucumber, eggplant, maize, and tomato) on persistence and the control efficacy of Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin to Tetranychus urticae Koch was investigated. Plants were artificially infested with T. urticae. B. bassiana conidia were suspended in Break-thru® solution (0.01%) at three different concentrations (0.5, 1, 2 g l⁻¹) and sprayed once onto plants. Plants in the control treatment were sprayed with Break-thru® solution alone. The number of conidia and levels of mite mortality were evaluated. Colony forming unit counts of conidia recovered from plant leaves declined over time regardless of the concentrations of B. bassiana applied. The rate of decline was different among crops and significantly higher on maize. However, more than 50% of the initial population of conidia were still viable on crops three weeks after application. The longer persistence of B. bassiana on crops did not result in better control of mites. Rather, mortality was positively correlated to the amount of inoculum deposited on leaves immediately after spraying. Mortality of mites was concentration-dependent and influenced by the host crop, with less control observed on maize and tomato than eggplant, beans and cucumber. Results were consistent between trials conducted and confirmed the hypothesis that the type of crop can influence the efficacy of B. bassiana against T. urticae.
ISSN:1386-6141
1573-8248
DOI:10.1007/s10526-010-9293-y