Abstract
Annual economic losses of eggplant due to western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) infestations are considerable. F. occidentalis is difficult to control due to rapid proliferation rates and resistance to chemical insecticides. A more effective biological control strategy is urgently required. To assess the potential efficacy of M. anisopliae CQMa421 in the biological control of F. occidentalis on eggplant, we evaluated its virulence and insecticidal activity in the laboratory and field. The laboratory results indicated that the LT50 of M. anisopliae CQMa421 against F. occidentalis at 2 × 107 conidia/ml was 5.5 days. The results from the experimental field trial showed that a single spray of M. anisopliae CQMa421 reduced thrips by 50–70% compared to the control; this was significantly lower than for the chemical insecticide imidacloprid. However, the results from demonstration field trials where consecutive sprays were made indicated that M. anisopliae CQMa421 controlled the pests at a level equivalent to that obtained with a chemical insecticide. The findings clearly demonstrated the feasibility of using M. anisopliae CQMa421 as an alternative to chemical insecticides in the control of F. occidentalis under field conditions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bielza P, Quinto V, Fernández E, Grávalos C, Abellán J, Cifuentes D (2008) Inheritance of resistance to acrinathrin in Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Pest Manag Sci 64:584–588. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.1540
de Faria MR, Wraight SP (2007) Mycoinsecticides and Mycoacaricides: a comprehensive list with worldwide coverage and international classification of formulation types. Biol Control 43:237–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2007.08.001
González-Mas N, Ortega-García L, Garrido-Jurado I, Dembilio O, Jaques JA, Quesada-Moraga E (2019) Which came first: the disease or the pest? Is there a host mediated spread of Beauveria bassiana (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) by invasive palm pests? J Invertebr Pathol 162:26–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jip.2019.01.007
Hong MS, Peng GX, Keyhani NO, Xia YX (2017) Application of the entomogenous fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae, for leafroller (Cnaphalocrocis medinalis) control and its effect on rice phyllosphere microbial diversity. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 101:6793–6807. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-017-8390-6
Jensen SE (2000) Insecticide resistance in the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. Integr Pest Manag Rev 5:131–146. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1009600426262
Kirk WDJ, Terry LI (2003) The spread of the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande). Agr Forest Entomol 5:301–310. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.14619563.2003.00192.x
Kutuk H (2017) Performance of the predator Amblyseius swirskii (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on greenhouse eggplants in the absence and presence of pine Pinus brutia (Pinales: Pinaceae) pollen. Entomol Res 47:263–269. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-5967.12222
Meng XK, Xie ZJ, Zhang N, Ji CH, Dong F, Qian K, Wang JJ (2018) Molecular cloning and characterization of GABA receptor and GluCl subunits in the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. Pestic Biochem Phys 150:33–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pestbp.2018.06.012
Midthassel A, Leather SR, Wright DJ, Baxter IH (2016) Compatibility of Amblyseius swirskii with Beauveria bassiana: two potentially complimentary biocontrol agents. Biocontrol 61:437–447. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-016-9718-3
Ortiz-Urquiza A, Luo ZB, Keyhani NO (2015) Improving mycoinsecticides for insect biological control. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 99:1057–1068. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-014-6270-x
Peng GX, Wang ZK, Yin YP, Zeng DY, Xia YX (2008) Field trials of Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) against oriental migratory locusts, Locusta migratoria manilensis (Meyen) in Northern China. Crop Prot 27:1244–1250. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2008.03.007
Pourian HR, Talaei-Hassanloui R, Kosari AA, Ashouri A (2010) Effects of Metarhizium anisopliae on searching, feeding and predation by Orius albidipennis (Hem., Anthocoridae) on Thrips tabaci (Thy., Thripidae) larvae. Biocontrol Sci Technol 21:15–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2010.517603
Saito T, Brownbridge M (2018) Compatibility of foliage-dwelling predatory mites and mycoinsecticides, and their combined efficacy against western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis. J Pest Sci 91:1291–1300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-018-0991-z
Suzuki Y, Shiotsuki T, Jouraku A, Miura K, Minakuchi C (2017) Benzoylurea resistance in western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae): the presence of a point mutation in chitin synthase 1. J Pestic Sci 42:93–96. https://doi.org/10.1584/jpestics.D17-023
Tong SM, Feng MG (2016) A mixture of putative sodium salts of camptothecin and bamboo tar is a novel botanical insecticide against rice planthoppers and stem borers. J Pest Sci 89:1003–1011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-015-0717-4
Van Eck J, Snyder A (2006) Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.). Methods Mol Biol 343:439–447. https://doi.org/10.1385/1-59745-130-4:439
Vänninen I, Tyni-Juslin J, Hokkanen H (2000) Persistence of augmented Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana in Finnish agricultural soils. Biocontrol 45:201–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/10.1023/A:1009998919531
Ventura C, Zappia CD, Lasagna M, Pavicic W, Richard S, Bolzan AD, Monczor F, Núñez M, Cocca C (2019) Effects of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on breast cancer disease. Implication of epigenetic mechanisms. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol 186:96–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsbmb.2018.09.021
Vestergaard S, Gillespie AT, Butt TM, Schreiter G, Eilenberg J (1995) Pathogenicity of the Hyphomycete Fungi Verticillium lecanii and Metarhizium anisopliae to the Western Flower Thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. Biocontrol Sci Technol 5:185–192. https://doi.org/10.1080/09583159550039909
Wan RY, Yuan GD, He BQ, Xu BY, Xie W, Wang SL, Zhang YJ, Wu QJ, Zhou XG (2018) Focc α6, a truncated nAChR subunit, positively correlates with spinosad resistance in the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande). Insect Biochem Mol 99:1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2018.05.002
Wetering FVD, Hoek MVD, Goldbach R, Mollema C, Peters D (1999) Variation in tospovirus transmission between populations of Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Bull Entomol Res 89:579–588. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007485399000735
Yan DD, Zhang YJ, Liu LG, Shi N, Yan H (2018) Pesticide exposure and risk of Parkinson’s disease: dose–response meta-analysis of observational studies. Regul Toxicol Pharm 96:57–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yrtph.2018.05.005
Zhang XR, Lei ZR, Reitz SR, Wu SY, Gao YL (2019) Laboratory and greenhouse evaluation of a granular formulation of Beauveria bassiana for control of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis. Insects 10:1–11. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10020058
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Key R&D Program of China (No. 2017YFD0201200) and Technological Innovation and Application Demonstration Project of CQ (cstc2018jscx-msybX0222).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Human and animal rights statement
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Additional information
Communicated by S. Reitz.
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Special issue on novel management tactics for the western flower thrips.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Li, J., Xie, J., Zeng, D. et al. Effective control of Frankliniella occidentalis by Metarhizium anisopliae CQMa421 under field conditions. J Pest Sci 94, 111–117 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01223-9
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01223-9