Scholarlink

Background <p>The grapevine cicada, <i>Psalmocharias alhageos (</i>Kolenati<i>)</i> (Hemiptera: Cicadidae), has recently emerged as a significant pest in vineyards in the Middle East. The soil-inhabiting nymphal stages of this species cause substantial root damage, and their subterranean habitats enable them to evade prevalent control tactics. Entomopathogenic fungi “EPF”, a class of fungi that are naturally occurring in soil and pathogenic to insects, have demonstrated potential utility against a broad spectrum of soil-dwelling pests and some non-soil-dwelling pests.</p> Results <p>Efficacy of three EPF species, <i>Beauveria bassiana</i>, <i>B. varroae</i> and <i>Metarhizium anisopliae</i>, against the grapevine cicada were investigated. In laboratory Petri dish assays, <i>M. anisopliae</i> exhibited the highest virulence with an LC<sub>50</sub> value of 10<sup>6</sup> conidia/ml, followed by <i>B. bassiana</i> with an LC<sub>50</sub> of 7.2 × 10<sup>6</sup> conidia.ml<sup>− 1</sup>. Cumulative mortality of <i>P. alhageos</i> was higher in soil column than Petri dish assays. At the highest concentration tested (10<sup>8</sup> conidia/ml), <i>M. anisopliae</i> caused the greatest efficacy against cicada nymphs, resulting in 75%, cumulative mortality. Soil type significantly affected activity of <i>M. anisopliae</i> and <i>B. bassiana</i> against <i>P. alhageos</i>. <i>M. anisopliae</i> caused greater nymph mortality in loam and loam soil than that in sandy loam. Moreover, efficacy of <i>M.anisopliae</i> was higher in clay loam soil than in the other soil types evaluated. Temperature also affected fungal virulence; cumulative mortality caused by <i>M. anisopliae</i> was higher at 20˚C than at 25 or 30˚C. Additionally, MST increased with decreasing temperature.</p> Conclusion <p>Evaluations of pure cultures of EPF suggest that these microbial agents, especially the promising candidate strain of <i>M. anisopliae</i>, could be useful for management of <i>P. alhageos</i>. However, further work is needed to explore mass production of these agents and their compatibility for integration with other tools. Future large-scale evaluations of <i>M. anisopliae</i> under field conditions are warranted.</p>

错误：搜索内容不能为空，请输入英文关键词
错误：关键词超出字数限制，请精简
高级检索

Evaluation of entomopathogenic fungi against Psalmocharias alhageos (Kolenati) (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) under laboratory and semi-field conditions

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

    开放获取

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月19日

查看全文
  • Kimia Sajadi,
  • Sepideh Ghaffari,
  • Mehrdad Rahimpour,
  • Lukasz L Stelinski,
  • Tariq Butt,
  • Javad Karimi

摘要

Background

The grapevine cicada, Psalmocharias alhageos (Kolenati) (Hemiptera: Cicadidae), has recently emerged as a significant pest in vineyards in the Middle East. The soil-inhabiting nymphal stages of this species cause substantial root damage, and their subterranean habitats enable them to evade prevalent control tactics. Entomopathogenic fungi “EPF”, a class of fungi that are naturally occurring in soil and pathogenic to insects, have demonstrated potential utility against a broad spectrum of soil-dwelling pests and some non-soil-dwelling pests.

Results

Efficacy of three EPF species, Beauveria bassiana, B. varroae and Metarhizium anisopliae, against the grapevine cicada were investigated. In laboratory Petri dish assays, M. anisopliae exhibited the highest virulence with an LC50 value of 106 conidia/ml, followed by B. bassiana with an LC50 of 7.2 × 106 conidia.ml− 1. Cumulative mortality of P. alhageos was higher in soil column than Petri dish assays. At the highest concentration tested (108 conidia/ml), M. anisopliae caused the greatest efficacy against cicada nymphs, resulting in 75%, cumulative mortality. Soil type significantly affected activity of M. anisopliae and B. bassiana against P. alhageos. M. anisopliae caused greater nymph mortality in loam and loam soil than that in sandy loam. Moreover, efficacy of M.anisopliae was higher in clay loam soil than in the other soil types evaluated. Temperature also affected fungal virulence; cumulative mortality caused by M. anisopliae was higher at 20˚C than at 25 or 30˚C. Additionally, MST increased with decreasing temperature.

Conclusion

Evaluations of pure cultures of EPF suggest that these microbial agents, especially the promising candidate strain of M. anisopliae, could be useful for management of P. alhageos. However, further work is needed to explore mass production of these agents and their compatibility for integration with other tools. Future large-scale evaluations of M. anisopliae under field conditions are warranted.