Prevalence of Pandora neo aphidis infecting nasonovia ribisnigri on lettuce crops in Argentina

SCORSETTI, A.C., MACIA, A., STEINKRAUS , D.C. & LOPEZ LASTRA, C.C.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2009

1049-9644

lettuce crops , Lactuca sativa organically produced in La Plata, Argentina , were sampled in order to determine the prevalence of fungal diseased aphids . Nasonovia ribisnigri was the only aphid detected and its ocurrence was highly variable . Teh fungal àthogen Pandora neoaphidis was the only pathogen detected . We recorded a maximum of 34.2 aphids per plant and the highest rate of fumgal prevalence was 56.6 % (n= 30) (aphids infected/ total aphids).Infected aphids were observed in all sampling sites. No difference in infection rates were detected between the center and the edge of the crops . Host denesity was an important factor determining infection .