<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">


<italic>Phyllophaga</italic> spp. are a complex of edaphic insect pests that are present in the corn crops (<italic>Zea mays</italic>) in México, which are usually controlled with increasing dosages of broad-spectrum chemical insecticides. Several entomopathogenic nematode species can produce acceptable control levels of these larvae. However, the synergistic interaction between fungi and entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) could improve the control of this insect. This study investigates the mortality of larvae of <italic>Phyllophaga vetula</italic> by the effect of the separate or combined application of the fungus <italic>Metarhizium anisopliae</italic> M1cog strain (Ma) and the nematodes <italic>Steinernema carpocapsae</italic> All strain (Sc) or <italic>Steinernema glaseri</italic> NJ-43 strain (Sg). In laboratory, dosages of 1 × 106 or 1 × 108 spores/larva and 250 infective juveniles were applied on medium or large size <italic>P. vetula</italic> larvae contained in vials with sterilized agricultural soil as the assay arena. The separate application of Ma did not kill any larvae, but Sg and Sc killed 40 and 80% of the larvae, respectively. However, the Ma and Sc combination had an important antagonistic interaction that decreased the mortality to 40%, but the combination Ma and Sg had a slight additive interaction that increased the mortality to 47%. The most determining factor in larvae mortality was the nematode used, with Sg as the species with best performance in 6 of the 12 treatments evaluated and with a maximum effectivity of 80% on medium-size larvae if combined with a low dosage of Ma. The combined application of an entomopathogenic fungus and EPN showed no consistent effects on the mortality percentage of <italic>P. vetula</italic>, mostly because the fungus was not isolated from <italic>Phyllophaga</italic> larvae.
</abstract>

Phyllophaga spp. are a complex of edaphic insect pests that are present in the corn crops (Zea mays) in México, which are usually controlled with increasing dosages of broad-spectrum chemical insecticides. Several entomopathogenic nematode species can produce acceptable control levels of these larvae. However, the synergistic interaction between fungi and entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) could improve the control of this insect. This study investigates the mortality of larvae of Phyllophaga vetula by the effect of the separate or combined application of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae M1cog strain (Ma) and the nematodes Steinernema carpocapsae All strain (Sc) or Steinernema glaseri NJ-43 strain (Sg). In laboratory, dosages of 1 × 106 or 1 × 108 spores/larva and 250 infective juveniles were applied on medium or large size P. vetula larvae contained in vials with sterilized agricultural soil as the assay arena. The separate application of Ma did not kill any larvae, but Sg and Sc killed 40 and 80% of the larvae, respectively. However, the Ma and Sc combination had an important antagonistic interaction that decreased the mortality to 40%, but the combination Ma and Sg had a slight additive interaction that increased the mortality to 47%. The most determining factor in larvae mortality was the nematode used, with Sg as the species with best performance in 6 of the 12 treatments evaluated and with a maximum effectivity of 80% on medium-size larvae if combined with a low dosage of Ma. The combined application of an entomopathogenic fungus and EPN showed no consistent effects on the mortality percentage of P. vetula, mostly because the fungus was not isolated from Phyllophaga larvae.

Mortality of <italic>Phyllophaga vetula</italic> larvae by the separate and combined application of <italic>Metarhizium anisopliae</italic>, <italic>Steinernema carpocapsae</italic> and <italic>Steinernema glaseri</italic>

Journal of Nematology

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Mortality of  larvae by the separate and combined application of ,  and 


running-head

Phyllophaga spp. are a complex of edaphic insect pests that are present in the corn crops (Zea mays) in México, which are usually controlled with increasing...

Treatment	Mortality of Phyllophaga vetula (% ± SD)	p-value (ANOVA)
LaHSg	47 ± 13.3	0.031
LaLSg	60 ± 11.5	0.009
MeHSg	60 ± 20	0.047
MeLSg	80 ± 11.5	0.002
LaSg	40 ± 11.5	0.034
LaHSc	27 ± 13.3	0.116
LaLSc	33.3 ± 13.3	0.086
MeHSc	27 ± 17.6	0.219
MeLSc	47 ± 29	0.185
MeSc	80 ± 11.5	0.002
LaH	0	0
MeL	0	0

Mortality of Phyllophaga vetula larvae by the separate and combined application of Metarhizium anisopliae, Steinernema carpocapsae and Steinernema glaseri

Published Online: Jul 29, 2020

Page range: 1 - 8

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2020-068

Keywords
Entomopathogenic fungi, Entomopathogenic nematodes, Mixed infection, White grub,

© 2020 Jaime Ruiz-Vega et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Results of the ANOVA analysis of means of each treatment compared with the untreated control (one degree of freedom).

Mortality of Phyllophaga vetula larvae by the separate and combined application of Metarhizium anisopliae, Steinernema carpocapsae and Steinernema glaseri

Published Online: Jul 29, 2020

Page range: 1 - 8

DOI: https://doi.org/10.21307/jofnem-2020-068

KeywordsEntomopathogenic fungi, Entomopathogenic nematodes, Mixed infection, White grub,

© 2020 Jaime Ruiz-Vega et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1:

Figure 2:

Figure 3:

Results of the ANOVA analysis of means of each treatment compared with the untreated control (one degree of freedom).

Keywords
Entomopathogenic fungi, Entomopathogenic nematodes, Mixed infection, White grub,