POSSIBILITY OF USING WHITE AND GREEN MUSCARDINE FUNGI FOR CONTROL OF CONE AND SEED INSECT PESTS

Abstract
Preconditioning of isolates of Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill. and Metarrhizium anisopliae (Metch.) Sor. with specific insects increases their virulence. An isolate of B. bassiana used two years previously in pathogenicity tests against spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana Clem., required only one passage through this insect to attain 100% mortality in 48 h of incubation, whereas an isolate of M. anisopliae that was not previously used against this insect required four passages to attain the same degree of virulence as B. bassiana. Larvae of Laspeyresia youngana (Kft.), Dasineura rachiphaga Tripp, and Dasineura canadensis Felt were very susceptible to both fungi and 100% mortality was obtained in less than 48 h of incubation. Larvae of Lasiomma anthracina Czerny were much less susceptible. Puparia of both genera of Diptera were more resistant than larvae and required longer incubation to obtain 100% mortality.