New records of entomopathogenic fungi infecting bemisia tabaci and trialeurodes vaporariorum pests of horticultural crops, in Argentina

SCORSETTI, ANA CLARA; HUMBER, RICHARD A.; DE GREGORIO CAROLINA; LÓPEZ LASTRA, CLAUDIA C.

BIOCONTROL (DORDRECHT)

Springer

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2008 vol. 53 p. 787 - 796

1386-6141

The whiteflies Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and trialeurodes v aporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyorodidae) are major crop pests throughout the world . Although extensive research about biological control of whitefly by parasitoids and predators had been conducted , also entomopahtogenic fungi can be considered as potential biocntrol agents . Surveys for entomopathogenic fungi were carried out in organic and conventional horticultural crops in greenhouses and open fields in Buenos Aires and Corrientes province , Argentina. These surveys resulted in the recovery and isolation of the following fungi from whiteflies : Lecanicillium lecanii, L. muscarium , L. longisporum, Isaria fumosorosea, and I. javanica. Pahtogenicity tests were conducted against T. vaporariorum nymphs using a conidial suspension 1 x 10 7 conidia /ml of the fungi. A mortality rate between 26.6 and 76.6 % was obtained at 7 days post infection . These are the first records of natural infections in the southern most region of the South American contintent of l. lecanii , L. muscarium , L. longisporum and Isaria javanica on T. v aporiorum and also the first report of I. fumosorosea on B. tabaci.