Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Maricopa, Arizona » U.S. Arid Land Agricultural Research Center » Pest Management and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #257466

Title: Compatibility of the insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana with neem against sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, on eggplant

Author
item ISLAM, M - South China Agricultural University
item Castle, Steven
item REN, S - South China Agricultural University

Submitted to: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/1/2009
Publication Date: 11/17/2009
Citation: Islam, M.T., Castle, S.J., Ren, S.X. 2009. Compatibility of the insect pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana with neem against sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, on eggplant. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata. 134: 28-34.

Interpretive Summary: The search for alternative pest control solutions to pesticides can potentially benefit by exploring different combinations of treatments. Creative solutions are especially needed for Bemisia tabaci, a worldwide pest of agriculture that is well-known for its capacity to resist insecticides. Research performed in this study looked at the potential of combining treatments of Beauvaria bassiana, an entomopathogenic fungus, and neem oil, a botanical extract from the neem tree known to have insecticidal properties. Laboratory comparisons were made of different concentrations of these products both individually and combined. Egg and nymphal mortalities increased when exposed to a combined treatment of these products. This study provides impetus for further exploring the potential of these products as a combined treatment against B. tabaci.

Technical Abstract: A study on the compatibility of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) with neem was conducted against sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), on eggplant. Initially, three concentrations of B. bassiana (106, 107, and 108 conidia per ml) and three concentrations of neem (0.25, 0.5, and 1.0%) were used as individual treatments against B. tabaci. The highest concentration of B. bassiana yielded the highest B. tabaci egg (25.2%) and nymph mortalities (73.0%), but this was not significantly different from the mortalities caused by the 107 conidia per ml suspension. Similarly, the highest concentration of neem yielded the highest egg (27.3%) and nymph mortalities (75.5%), which was also not significantly different from the 0.5% suspension. Therefore, 0.5% neem was used along with 107 B. bassiana conidia per ml suspension as an integrated pest management program against B. tabaci. The combination of B. bassiana and neem yielded the highest B. tabaci egg (29.5%) and nymph mortalities (97.2%), and the lowest LT50 (2.08 day) value. Moreover, an integrated combination of B. bassiana with neem caused 27.6 and 20.5% more nymphal mortality than individual treatments of B. bassiana and neem, respectively, 7 days post-application. Thus, a combined application of an entomopathogenic fungus and a botanical insecticide may benefit from both, and it has proven effective for the control of B. tabaci on eggplant.