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Effect of Different Soils on Pheromone-Enhanced Movement of Entomopathogenic Nematodes

Sehrish Gulzar

Sehrish Gulzar

USDA-ARS, SEA- SE Fruit and Tree Nut Research UnitByron,
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Gulzar, Sehrish
, 
Kyle Slusher

Kyle Slusher

Texas A&M, AgriLife Research and Extension Center Stephenville
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Slusher, Kyle
, 
Fatma Kaplan

Fatma Kaplan

Pheronym, Inc.Woodland,
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Kaplan, Fatma
, 
Edwin E. Lewis

Edwin E. Lewis

Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, University of IdahoMoscow,
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Lewis, Edwin E.
, 
Steven Hobbs

Steven Hobbs

Pheronym, Inc.Woodland,
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Hobbs, Steven
 and 
David Shapiro-Ilan

David Shapiro-Ilan

USDA-ARS, SEA- SE Fruit and Tree Nut Research UnitByron,
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Shapiro-Ilan, David
  
Mar 29, 2025
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Article Category: Research Paper
Published Online: Mar 29, 2025
Received: Jan 02, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jofnem-2025-0009
Keywords
© 2025 Sehrish Gulzar et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Figure 1:

Mean (± SE) number of dead Tenebrio molitor larvae resulting from exposure to Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HbVS), Steinernema feltiae (SfSN) and Steinernema carpocapsae (ScAll). The nematodes were either exposed to pheromones or not exposed. Insect baiting was done in different soils (the soil effects are combined across treatments): commercial play sand, Byron orchard soil (B) and Tifton orchard soil (T). The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. Bars with the same letter are not significantly different within each nematode species (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).
Mean (± SE) number of dead Tenebrio molitor larvae resulting from exposure to Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HbVS), Steinernema feltiae (SfSN) and Steinernema carpocapsae (ScAll). The nematodes were either exposed to pheromones or not exposed. Insect baiting was done in different soils (the soil effects are combined across treatments): commercial play sand, Byron orchard soil (B) and Tifton orchard soil (T). The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. Bars with the same letter are not significantly different within each nematode species (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).

Figure 2:

Mean (± SE) number of dead Tenebrio molitor larvae resulting from exposure to Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HbVS), Steinernema feltiae (SfSN) and Steinernema carpocapsae (ScAll) baiting in different soils: commercial play sand, Byron orchard soil (B) and Tifton orchard soil (T). The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. Bars with the same letter within species are not significantly different (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).
Mean (± SE) number of dead Tenebrio molitor larvae resulting from exposure to Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HbVS), Steinernema feltiae (SfSN) and Steinernema carpocapsae (ScAll) baiting in different soils: commercial play sand, Byron orchard soil (B) and Tifton orchard soil (T). The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. Bars with the same letter within species are not significantly different (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).

Figure 3:

Mean (± SE) ratios of dead Tenebrio molitor in soil baited with Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Steinernema feltiae and Steinernema carpocapsae exposed to pheromone (treatment) divided by dead insects from nematodes not exposed to pheromones (control). The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. This ratio measures the magnitude of the pheromone boosting effect on nematode efficacy among species. Bars with the same letter are not significantly different (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).
Mean (± SE) ratios of dead Tenebrio molitor in soil baited with Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Steinernema feltiae and Steinernema carpocapsae exposed to pheromone (treatment) divided by dead insects from nematodes not exposed to pheromones (control). The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. This ratio measures the magnitude of the pheromone boosting effect on nematode efficacy among species. Bars with the same letter are not significantly different (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).

Figure 4:

Mean (± SE) ratios of dead Tenebrio molitor in different soils baited with entomopathogenic nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Steinernema feltiae and Steinernema carpocapsae) exposed to pheromone (treatment) divided by dead insects from nematodes not exposed to pheromones (control). Nematode species effects are combined across treatments. The ratio measures the magnitude of the relative pheromone boosting effect on different soils. The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. Bars with the same letter are not significantly different (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).
Mean (± SE) ratios of dead Tenebrio molitor in different soils baited with entomopathogenic nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, Steinernema feltiae and Steinernema carpocapsae) exposed to pheromone (treatment) divided by dead insects from nematodes not exposed to pheromones (control). Nematode species effects are combined across treatments. The ratio measures the magnitude of the relative pheromone boosting effect on different soils. The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. Bars with the same letter are not significantly different (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).

Figure 5:

Mean (± SE) number of dead Tenebrio molitor larvae resulting from Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HbVS), Steinernema feltiae (SfSN) and Steinernema carpocapsae (ScAll) with and without pheromone exposure in different soils: commercial play sand, Byron orchard soil (B) and Tifton orchard soil(T) (the soil effects are combined across treatments). The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. Bars with the same letter within each pheromone series are not significantly different (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).
Mean (± SE) number of dead Tenebrio molitor larvae resulting from Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HbVS), Steinernema feltiae (SfSN) and Steinernema carpocapsae (ScAll) with and without pheromone exposure in different soils: commercial play sand, Byron orchard soil (B) and Tifton orchard soil(T) (the soil effects are combined across treatments). The number of dead insects reflect the level of nematode efficacy after moving through a soil column; The soil from the bottom section of a soil column was exposed to the insects. Bars with the same letter within each pheromone series are not significantly different (Tukey’s test, alpha = 0.05).

Characteristics of three soils included in entomopathogenic nematode movement studies_

Tifton Orchard soil Byron Orchard soil Play Sand
Field-capacity (%) 13.5 14.5 8
Low cation buffer (LCB) (ppm CaCO3/Ph) 238.0 353.0 49.00
pH CaCl2 5.48 4.77 6.16
Equivalent water pH 6.08 5.37 6.76
Sand (%) 98.1 84.1 100.0
Silt (%) 1.9 13.6 0.0
Clay (%) 0.0 2.2 0.0
Organic matter (%) 1.670 6.259 0.0340
Calcium (kg/ha) 1217.24 2252.91 178.77
Potassium (kg/ha) 132.82 219.68 57.42
Magnesium (kg/ha) 181.12 278.97 17.86
Manganese (kg/ha) 15.13 299.26 2.953
Phosphorus (kg/ha) 337.93 162.18 11.44
Zinc (kg/ha) 32.78 51.98 1.769
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