Lethal and sub lethal effects of indigenous isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin against Spodoptera litura (Fabricius)

Abstract

Lethal and Sub Lethal Effects of indigenous isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin against Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) was evaluated by leaf dip method during the period of August 2015 to February 2016. A total of three isolates (SSB, SBvB and SBvD) of M. anisopliae from 30 samples were obtained based on their pathogenicity test against S. litura. Among the three isolates, SSB (76.67 %) and SBvB (63.33 %) showed highest mortality whereas the least mortality was found in the SBvD (50.00 %) isolate at six days after treatment at the concentration of 3x 10 8 cfu/1000 ml. Per cent pupation, adult emergence and fecundity (23.33, 6.67, 0.00 respectively) were very poor in the SSB depicting the high virulence whereas the highest was found in the SBvB (50.00, 23.33, 23.00, respectively) isolate. The order of mortality and sub lethal effect of these isolates were SSB>SSvB>SSvD. This paper adds the some more isolates of entomopathogenic fungi for the management of soil inhabiting insect pests. The isolate SSB performed better under laboratory conditions and need to be evaluated under field conditions for their promotion against soil dwelling and defoliating insect pests.