Evaluation of the Entomophagous Fungus Verticillium lecanii (Moniliales: Moniliaceae) as a Control Agent for Insects

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
An isolate of the fungus Verticillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Viegas from Alberta, Canada, was pathogenic under controlled conditions to four species of aphids, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), Metopolophium dirhodum Walker, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), Therioaphis maculata (Buckton), the grasshopper Melanoplus sanguinipes (F.), and the nabid Nabis alternatus Parshley. Range of population reduction of aphids caused by V. lecanii was 60–97% for A. pisum , 32–85% for M. dirhodum , 50–100% for M. persicae , and 37–75% for T. maculata. V. lecanii did not significantly affect the aphid Rhopalosiphon padi L., the adult of the coccinellid Hippodamia quinquesignata Kirby, and the larvae of the pyralid Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner).