<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are widely recognised as one of the most damaging group of forest pests. Entomopathogenic fungi have shown great potential for the management of some bark beetle species. The efficacy of three entomopathogenic fungi, namely, <italic>Beauveria bassiana</italic> (Balsamo) Vuillemin, <italic>Metarhizium anisopliae</italic> sensu lato (Metchnikoff) Sorokin and <italic>Lecanicillium lecanii</italic> (Zimmerman) Zare and Gams was tested against the bark beetle <italic>Pityogenes scitus</italic> Blandford under the laboratory conditions. An insecticide – cyclone 505 EC, was also used as positive control in the experiment. Each fungal suspension contained 1.0×10<sup>9</sup> spores of fungi in 1 ml. In treated branches, <italic>B. bassiana</italic> and <italic>M. anisopliae</italic> caused higher percentage of mortalities, that is, 58.33% and 48%, respectively, after 10 days of treatment and 85% and 71%, respectively, after 20 days of treatment. In petri plate assay, <italic>B. bassiana, M. anisopliae</italic> and <italic>L. lecanii</italic> caused 100%, 100% and 73.33% of mortality respectively. The percentage of mortality caused by treated insecticide was 79.16%. The results obtained in the present study are promising; however, no recommendations concerning the potential use of these fungal pathogens in forest protection can be given, and further research studies are needed in this respect, especially under field conditions.</p></abstract>

The bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are widely recognised as one of the most damaging group of forest pests. Entomopathogenic fungi have shown great potential for the management of some bark beetle species. The efficacy of three entomopathogenic fungi, namely, Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin, Metarhizium anisopliae sensu lato (Metchnikoff) Sorokin and Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Zare and Gams was tested against the bark beetle Pityogenes scitus Blandford under the laboratory conditions. An insecticide – cyclone 505 EC, was also used as positive control in the experiment. Each fungal suspension contained 1.0×109 spores of fungi in 1 ml. In treated branches, B. bassiana and M. anisopliae caused higher percentage of mortalities, that is, 58.33% and 48%, respectively, after 10 days of treatment and 85% and 71%, respectively, after 20 days of treatment. In petri plate assay, B. bassiana, M. anisopliae and L. lecanii caused 100%, 100% and 73.33% of mortality respectively. The percentage of mortality caused by treated insecticide was 79.16%. The results obtained in the present study are promising; however, no recommendations concerning the potential use of these fungal pathogens in forest protection can be given, and further research studies are needed in this respect, especially under field conditions.

Laboratory evaluation of entomopathogenic fungi as biological control agents against the bark beetle <italic>Pityogenes scitus</italic> Blandford (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Kashmir

Post Graduate Department of Zoology, Section of Entomology

Folia Forestalia Polonica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Laboratory evaluation of entomopathogenic fungi as biological control agents against the bark beetle  Blandford (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Kashmir

The bark beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) are widely recognised as one of the most damaging group of forest pests. Entomopathogenic fungi have shown great...

Laboratory evaluation of entomopathogenic fungi as biological control agents against the bark beetle Pityogenes scitus Blandford (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Kashmir

Published Online: Jul 20, 2018

Page range: 83 - 90

Received: Dec 15, 2017

Accepted: Mar 08, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ffp-2018-0008

Keywords
biological control, mortality, laboratory conditions

© 2018 Abdul L. Khanday et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Laboratory evaluation of entomopathogenic fungi as biological control agents against the bark beetle Pityogenes scitus Blandford (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Kashmir

Published Online: Jul 20, 2018

Page range: 83 - 90

Received: Dec 15, 2017

Accepted: Mar 08, 2018

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ffp-2018-0008

Keywordsbiological control, mortality, laboratory conditions

© 2018 Abdul L. Khanday et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
biological control, mortality, laboratory conditions