Although sold commercially as myco-insecticides, naturally occurring soil borne entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) pose a unique opportunity for regulating soil-dwelling insect herbivore populations via conservation biological control. Plant identity has a significant effect on soil borne fungi, which may includee EPF. We asked whether the choice of covercrops could affect the diversity and infectivity of EPF in a vineyard. We studied the effect of different mixtures of groundcover vegetation on the infectivity and community composition of the naturally occurring EPF community in a semi-arid vineyard in British Columbia, Canada. Soil was collected from a groundcover field trial and used in a quantitative laboratory bioassay with the model insect, Galleria mellonella. Death by mycosis was greater when Galleria was exposed to soil collected from groundcovers containing native versus exotic grasses. EPF communities isolated from Galleria cadavers also differed among groundcovers. This study presents the first evidence that manipulating vegetative identity can alter the composition and infectivity of soil-dwelling EPF. Future work should investigate the potential for groundcovers and cover crops to increase conservation biological control of soil-dwelling insect pests via changes to EPF communities in specific crop-pest scenarios.

尽管以真菌杀虫剂的形式商业出售，但天然存在的土传昆虫病原真菌（EPF）带来了通过保护性生物控制来调节土居昆虫食草动物种群的独特机会。植物特性对土壤传播的真菌具有重要影响，其中可能包括EPF。我们询问选择覆盖作物是否会影响葡萄园中EPF的多样性和传染性。在加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省的半干旱葡萄园中，我们研究了地表植被不同混合物对天然存在的EPF群落的感染性和群落组成的影响。从地面覆盖的田间试验中收集土壤，并将其用于模型昆虫加勒梅尔菌种的定量实验室生物测定。当发生真菌病时，死亡人数更大环球免税店暴露于从含有本地草和外来草的地被植物收集的土壤中。从Galleria尸体中分离出来的EPF社区在地被植物之间也有所不同。这项研究提出了第一个证据，证明操纵植物身份可以改变土壤EPF的组成和传染性。未来的工作应该调查地面覆盖物和覆盖作物的潜力，以通过改变特定农作物虫害情景中的EPF群落来增强对土壤栖居害虫的保护性生物防治。