Abstract

ZUNIGA-OVIEDO, Marco Antonio; SOTO-GIRALDO, Alberto  and  CRUZ-CERON, Gabriel. BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITY OF ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI AND BACTERIA ON Diatraea saccharalis Fabricius (LEPIDOPTERA: CRAMBIDAE). Bol. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. Univ. Caldas [online]. 2016, vol.20, n.2, pp.82-92. ISSN 0123-3068.  https://doi.org/10.17151/bccm.2016.20.2.6.

Diatraea saccharalis is considered the most limiting pest of sugarcane crops in America generating great losses in production. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of commercial and native entomopathogenic fungi and the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki as potential biological controls of this insect pest. The pathogenicity and virulence of six commercial entomopathogenic fungi, one native fungus (Bb-HN1) and the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensison first instar larvae of Diatraea under laboratory and field conditions was evaluated. The commercial products mix®, Dipel® and nsecbiol® as well as the native isolate Bb-HN1 showed mortality rates of 100, 100, 62 and 70%, respectively. The most virulent treatments according to their lethal and median lethal concentration were Dipel® (1.3 days and 1.6⁴ IU/ml), Safer mix® (12.5 days and 5.3⁵ IU/ml) and Bb-HN1 (22.3 days and 1.6⁶ IU/ml) respectively. A possible synergism between the fungus B. bassiana and the bacterium B. thuringiensis, and a damage reduction caused by the larvae to sugarcane seeds treated with the products and a damage reduction caused by the larvae to sugarcane seeds treated with the products Dipel® and Bb-HN1 under semi-field conditions was also found. The product B. thuringiensis (Dipel®) mixed with the fungus Bb-HN1 is presented as an alternative for the integrated management of the pest.

Keywords : biological control; integrated pest management; sugarcane; Bacillus thuringiensis.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in Spanish     · Spanish ( pdf )