{"title":"Efficacy of Bacillus licheniformis: a biocontrol agent against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides Penz. (Penz. & Sacc.) causing anthracnose in greater yam (Dioscorea alata L.)","authors":"Amrutha Pandirikkal Ravindran, Jeeva Muthulekshmi Lajapathy, Sreelatha Gopalakrishnan Lalithakumari, Akhil Kannolickal Mohan, Tom Cyriac, Shilpa Sreekumar Usha","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00755-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00755-3","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, is the most dangerous fungal disease of greater yam ( Dioscorea alata L.), and leads to significant crop loss. Microbial technology in cropping systems is currently focused on biological control agents (BCAs), which include plant endophytes like bacteria, which contribute well to sustainable production. In the present study, the ability of an endophytic bacterium, Bacillus licheniformis (CTCRI EB12), isolated from Aloe vera was investigated to prevent the disease. Results The bacterium, CTCRI EB12, was characterized as a member of the Bacillus genus by morphological and biochemical tests and confirmed as B. licheniformis via 16S ribosomal gene analysis. The effectiveness of the endophytic bacterium was affirmed through cell confrontation assays and scanning electron microscopy. In cell confrontation assay, the isolate inhibited all the three C. gloeosporioides isolates used in the study with more than 80% inhibition. The effect of culture filtrate of the isolate was also tested against pathogens that were compliant with the outcome of dual culture technique. The culture and culture filtrate could effectively restrain the spreading of C. gloeosporioides in greater yam leaf. The isolate could completely inhibit the growth of the pathogen through an antibiosis study, and the same could be explained through scanning electron microscopy results, in which the endophyte-treated C. gloeosporioides hyphae appeared longer and distorted compared to control and conidia possess disfigurement in endophyte-treated sample when compared to control. Conclusions The study showed that Bacillus licheniformis (CTCRI EB12), the endophytic bacterium that has the capacity to enhance the protection of greater yam plants, could be further developed as a microbial pesticide to reduce the effect of anthracnose in greater yam fields. Additional investigation will reveal the endophytic isolate's antifungal capabilities and assessment of their performance in the open field. The present study depicted that it might be a potent biological control agent against C. gloeosporioides causing greater yam anthracnose.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"53 17","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134902324","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Identification of native entomopathogenic fungi associated with Mahanarva fimbriolata Stahl in silvopastoral systems (Urochloa brizantha cv. MG-5 and Eucalyptus spp.)","authors":"H. Sarubbi, G. Resquín-Romero, I. Garrido-Jurado","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00756-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00756-2","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background Pastures are susceptible to attacks from various species of insects, with Cercopidae being one of the main responsible pests. The species Mahanarva fimbriolata has a wide distribution in the Eastern region of Paraguay, leading to pasture damage. The most promising alternatives to chemical use are bioinsecticides, which could offer effective control while minimizing negative environmental impacts. Beauveria and Metarhizium have been documented as biocontrol fungi for Cercopidae insects. Therefore, identifying and isolating virulent native strains presents potential alternatives for controlling the spittlebug M. fimbriolata . Results Based on morphological and molecular characteristics, native strains of Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana were identified in the collected insects. Phylogenetic trees confirmed that the Beauveria sequence ( Beauveria seq) obtained in this study aligned with the ARSEF 842 isolate of B. bassiana . The Metarhizium sequence ( Metarhizium seq) was in the same clade as ARSEF 7450 and ARSEF 7487, which belong to the Metarhizium anisopliae . Beauveria bassiana displayed conidiophores that were broad at the basal part, forming synnemata or groups of conidiophores closely packed together, with a typical \"zig-zag\"-shaped rachis. The conidia were hyaline and smooth, ellipsoidal, and globose. On the other hand, M. anisopliae exhibited simple, straight conidiophores with bottle-shaped phialides. The conidia were elongated, ovoid to cylindrical, arranged in chains, and had an olive green color. Conclusions This is the first report of Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana obtained from nymphs and adults of Mahanarva fimbriolata in Paraguay.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"16 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135043049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Multi-species endophytic Bacillus for improved control of potato soilborne and tuber-borne diseases in Tunisia: from laboratory to field conditions","authors":"Hayfa Jabnoun-Khiareddine, Rania Aydi-Ben-Abdallah, Mejda Daami-Remadi","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00753-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00753-5","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background Due to the soilborne and tuber-borne nature of their causative agents, Fusarium wilt, Rhizoctonia root canker and black dot diseases are still leading to serious problems in potato production in Tunisia and worldwide. Among endophytic bacteria, the genus Bacillus is one of the most exploited microbial groups known as potent biocontrol agents against several potato diseases. In the present study, six strains belonging to five Bacillus species were screened for their abilities to inhibit root and wilt potato pathogens in vitro, in vivo and under natural conditions over three cropping seasons and to promote plant growth. Results Based on the dual-culture assays, the whole-cell suspensions of SV39 and SV104 ( Bacillus tequilensis ), SV41 ( B. subtilis ), SV44 ( B. methylotrophicus ) and SV65 ( B. amyloliquefaciens subsp. plantarum ) strains exhibited potent antifungal activity against important potato soilborne phytopathogens with ~ 65 to 70% inhibition rates. Significant inhibition rates were also induced by the cell-free culture filtrates, the butanolic and the chloroformic extracts depending on the target pathogens, the concentration used and the Bacillus strain tested. In pot experiment, a decrease in Rhizoctonia root canker severity, ranging from 43 to 65% compared to the inoculated and untreated control, was induced by all Bacillus spp. strain-based treatments, while SV39-, S42- and SV65-based treatments were the most effective in suppressing by 50–53 and 65–52%, black dot severity and the relative vascular discoloration extent induced by F. oxysporum f. sp. tuberosi , respectively, relative to positive control. This biocontrol potential was associated with an enhancement of potato growth parameters. Field studies indicated that soil treatment with the most of the Bacillus spp. strains had significantly controlled all the target fungal soilborne diseases and improved at the least two growth and/or production parameters depending on the strain used and the cropping seasons. SV39-, SV41-, SV44- and SV104-based treatments resulted in a significant increase in tuber yield in one cropping season. Conclusion These Bacillus spp. strains could be used in combinations and/or introduced with other existing practices in order to provide supplemental control of target diseases and yield promotion under organic or conventional potato production systems.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"52 25","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135432212","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Aneela Nawaz, Sabeena Zafar, Muqaddas Shahzadi, Sayed Muhammad Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Nasir Khan, Aamer Ali Shah, Malik Badshah, Samiullah Khan
{"title":"Bacteriophages: an overview of the control strategies against phytopathogens","authors":"Aneela Nawaz, Sabeena Zafar, Muqaddas Shahzadi, Sayed Muhammad Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Nasir Khan, Aamer Ali Shah, Malik Badshah, Samiullah Khan","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00751-7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00751-7","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Food demand is directly associated with the human population. Due to various plant diseases, there has been a reduction in crop yield. There is an extreme necessity to low such losses in crop yield to meet the rising demand for food. Novel and eco-friendly control approaches should be developed for combating bacterial diseases of crops. Recent control strategies that involve the usage of antibiotics or chemicals are no more effective because of resistance developed by bacterial species. Furthermore, the usage of such agents has proven to be not environmentally friendly. To overcome these issues, bacteriophages are used as an alternative solution. Phages are viruses that attack specific bacterial species, and within current years much consideration is received by them in controlling different diseases caused by bacteria. Phages can be used for controlling different crop-related diseases. Several phage-based products are accessible in the market. Compared to chemical control methods, phage biocontrol offers several advantages. Mixtures of phages can be employed to target pathogenic bacteria. Unlike chemical control strategies, phage mixtures can be readily adjusted to counter any potential resistance. This review summarizes the use of phages as a biocontrol agent against phytopathogens.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"54 8","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135819419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Development of potential microbial agents with two new entomopathogenic fungal strains to control the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)","authors":"Yu-Chen Pu, Zong-Wei Zheng, Can-Hui Ding, Xian-De Chen","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00754-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00754-4","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background Entomopathogenic fungi, representing a class of microbial agent, have been widely used in the field of pest management. The objective of this work was to isolate different species of fungi and to evaluate their virulence against the destructive and invasive red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Results Two new entomopathogenic fungal strains isolated from dead diseased RPWs were identified as Metarhizium anisopliae ZZ-A1 and Fusarium oxysporum ZZ-L1 using growth characteristics, morphology, and rDNA-ITS sequence amplification. Bioassays showed that M. anisopliae ZZ-A1 strain exhibited significantly higher corrected mortality than F. oxysporum ZZ-L1 strain (90.92 vs. 77.28%) in fourth instar RPW larvae 12 days after treatment with a concentration of 1.0 × 10 10 conidia/ml, as well as low median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) and median lethal time (LT 50 ) values. Conclusions The results suggest that both fungal isolates can potentially be developed as effective and persistent a microbial agent against this widespread pest, RPW. However, M. anisopliae ZZ-A1 showed relatively higher insecticidal activity than F. oxysporum ZZ-L1.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"6 5","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135933512","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Naglaa A. Taha, Mohsen Mohamed Elsharkawy, Aya A. Shoughy, Mohamed K. El-Kazzaz, Amr A. Khedr
{"title":"Biological control of postharvest tomato fruit rots using Bacillus spp. and Pseudomonas spp.","authors":"Naglaa A. Taha, Mohsen Mohamed Elsharkawy, Aya A. Shoughy, Mohamed K. El-Kazzaz, Amr A. Khedr","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00752-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00752-6","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background Postharvest diseases cause a wide loss to tomato fruits during handling and storing from harvest to consumers. Fungicides are mainly used to control postharvest diseases. Biological control is the eco-friendly substitute strategy used for postharvest diseases management as which becoming promise worldwide. Six bacterial bioagent (i.e., Bacillus subtilis , B. amyloliquefaciens, Pseudomonas resinovorans, P. alcaligenes, P. putida and P. stutzeri ) were tested to suppress both Geotrichum candidum and Alternaria alternata causal agents of tomato fruit rots during storage. Results In vitro, most of bioagents significantly reduced mycelial growth rate of G. candidum . Both of B. subtilis and P. stutzeri were the most superior bacterial bioagents with values 67.03 and 72.2%, respectively. In addition, B. subtilis and B. amyloliquefaciens resulted in the most superior over all antagonists against A. alternata . The lowest percent of disease incidence and severity of G. candidum were obtained by B. subtilis and P. stutzeri . The maximum reduction percent of it on tomato fruits was recorded by applying B. subtilis and P. stutzeri with values (90 and 87%) and (91, 89%) in both seasons, respectively. Also, the highest reduction of A. alternata was obtained by using B. subtilis, which resulted in 85 and 84% in both seasons, respectively. The application of bioagents against both pathogens was significantly improved fruit quality aspects (weight loss, vitamin C, TSS and acidity %) during storage period compared to infected control fruits. Conclusion The findings revealed that both of B. subtilis and P. stutzeri could be potential biological control agents against most postharvest pathogens of tomato fruits. This might be an alternative control strategy instead of fungicides which service the sustainable and organic farming.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"80 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136102944","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Molecular techniques for the improvement of microbial biocontrol agents against plant pathogens","authors":"Anik Majumdar","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00746-4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00746-4","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Biological control is a sustainable and ecologically effective method for bringing down pest population to an acceptable level. Implementing microbial biocontrol agents (MBCAs) to manage plant diseases necessitates the use of environmentally friendly practices that can increase global food production and guarantee the safety of food supply. Recent advancements in biotechnology have made it easier to find and characterize new beneficial microbes as well as to identify their genetic byproducts. These findings have made it possible to clone these microbes in plants in an effort to strengthen their resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. The technological improvements have strengthened the symbiotic interaction between microbes and plants while also enabling the modification of the processes through which MBCAs exert their effects, ultimately enhancing their potential in managing plant diseases. The genome sequencing of MBCAs has yielded useful information about their genomes, which has helped to characterize them for efficiently. This article offers a thorough summary of the already existing and recent molecular advances used to increase the efficiency of MBCAs for managing plant diseases as well as to understand their biocontrol mechanisms through various omics technologies. These approaches are important for assuring food security and increasing agricultural outputs by minimizing yield loss due to plant diseases.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136014399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Waleed Khalid Ahmed, Hutaf A. A. Alsalim, Ashwaq Talip Mohammed, Hiba Mohammed Youssef
{"title":"Evaluation of the effectiveness of some mycorrhizal fungi isolates against charcoal rot disease","authors":"Waleed Khalid Ahmed, Hutaf A. A. Alsalim, Ashwaq Talip Mohammed, Hiba Mohammed Youssef","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00747-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00747-3","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background The sunflower plants are attacked by serious seed and soil-borne pathogens including charcoal rot disease that caused by Macrophomina phaseolina . This disease has serious damages to sunflower crop. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus against charcoal rot disease as fungicide alternative. Results Morphological and molecular identification was done, using universal primers for molecular identification. Finally, a greenhouse experiment was conducted, and the length and weight of the plant shoot and root as well as disease incidence and severity percentages were estimated for the treatments infected with the M. phaseolina pathogen. The results showed that molecular identification indicates their subordination to Claroideoglomus etunicatum and Funneliformis mosseae . The greenhouse experiment showed that combined inoculation treatments ( C. etunicatum + F. mosseae and C. etunicatum + F. mosseae + M.phaseolina ) had the highest averages of length and weight of the plant shoot and root in the non-infected and pathogen-infected ( M. phaseolina ) treatments. F. mosseae and F. mosseae + M.phaseolina treatments had better effects on plant growth. M. phaseolina pathogen had suppression effects than the C. etunicatum inoculum ( C. etunicatum and C. etunicatum + M. phaseolina treatments). The disease incidence and severity percentages decreased significantly in the inoculated plants than in non-inoculated plants. F. mosseae inoculum showed more efficiency in reducing DI and DS than C. etunicatum inoculum, while adding both, resulting in an extra significant reduction. The combined inoculation, which functions as a biofungicide and a biofertilizer, presented a viable biocontrol technique for crop protection. Conclusions Such the AM fungi treatments are considered good and biological safe. The symbiotic relationship of AM fungi with plants can also be utilized to gain successful management of agricultural against soil-borne diseases for getting rid of the negative effects of pesticides.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135968146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Microbial antagonists: diversity, formulation and applications for management of pest–pathogens","authors":"Rajeshwari Negi, Babita Sharma, Simranjeet Kaur, Tanvir Kaur, Sofia Sharief Khan, Sanjeev Kumar, Seema Ramniwas, Sarvesh Rustagi, Sangram Singh, Ashutosh Kumar Rai, Divjot Kour, Neelam Thakur, Ajar Nath Yadav","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00748-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00748-2","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Agriculture is the backbone of developing countries, which plays an essential role in primary drivers of economy. The increasing use of chemical fertilizers and toxic insecticides endangers the health of human, plant soils, and the environment. Microbial insecticides have been implemented in current scenario for crop protection. Biological agents for pest control have gained more attention in recent year as substitutes for management of pests and pathogens. It provides a sustainable approach to plant health management and assists to minimize the excessive applications of toxic substances. The antagonistic microbes belong to six different phyla including Bacillota, Actinomycetota, Pseudomonadota, Bacteroidota and Mucoromycota. Microbial pesticides have been developed through a number of processes, including extraction of pure culture and screening using effectiveness bioassays under controlled and natural conditions. Biological control agents (BCAs) are recognized to be the most sophisticated technology for environmentally friendly agriculture. The various beneficial BCAs have been reported for the management of plant health, but they required effective acceptance together with the standardization of bioformulation. The present review deals with the recent development of microbial control agents, mechanisms of actions, development of microbial pesticides and their potential applications for agricultural productivity.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"18 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135968440","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nanxia Fu, Tiekuang Wang, Qiurong Li, Zongxiu Luo, Zhaoqun Li, Lei Bian, Chunli Xiu, Zongmao Chen, Xiaoming Cai
{"title":"Identification and biocontrol potential evaluation of a naturally occurring Metarhizium pingshaense isolate infecting tea weevil Myllocerinus aurolineatus Voss (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)","authors":"Nanxia Fu, Tiekuang Wang, Qiurong Li, Zongxiu Luo, Zhaoqun Li, Lei Bian, Chunli Xiu, Zongmao Chen, Xiaoming Cai","doi":"10.1186/s41938-023-00749-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s41938-023-00749-1","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Background Tea weevil, Myllocerinus aurolineatus Voss (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is an important insect pest in Chinese tea plantations. The primary method for controlling tea weevils involves the use chemical pesticides. Hence, there is an urgent need for environmentally friendly control strategies. To screen for potential pathogenic strains useful for the biocontrol of tea weevils, a naturally occurring Metarhizium pingshaense strain was isolated from a field-collected infected tea weevil larva for the first time in China. Results Morphological features and molecular characteristics revealed the isolate was an M. pingshaense strain, herein referred to as Ma0628. At 22 °C (tea weevil pupation temperature), the inoculation with M. pingshaense Ma0628 resulted in a corrected cumulative late instar larval mortality rate exceeding 76% at 11 days after the inoculation with the 1 × 10 8 conidia/ml spore suspension using the immersion or soil-mixing method. Accordingly, the median lethal concentrations were 4.49 × 10 3 and 3.76 × 10 2 conidia/ml for the immersion and soil-mixing inoculation methods, respectively. Furthermore, the corrected cumulative adult mortality rate reached 83.33% at 14 days after the inoculation with the 1 × 10 8 conidia/ml spore suspension. Conclusion The study results indicate that M. pingshaense strain Ma0628 is an entomopathogenic fungus pathogenic to tea weevil larvae and adults, suggesting it may be a potentially useful biocontrol agent for preventing M. aurolineatus infestations.","PeriodicalId":11514,"journal":{"name":"Egyptian Journal of Biological Pest Control","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136208573","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}