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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Stoneville, Mississippi » Southern Insect Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #301925
Title: Mississippi Delta native strain of Beauveria bassiana for control of TPB

Author
item Portilla, Maribel
item Snodgrass, Gordon
item Luttrell, Randall

Submitted to: Midsouth Entomologist
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/4/2014
Publication Date: 9/30/2014
Citation: Portilla, M., Snodgrass, G.L., Luttrell, R.G. 2014. Mississippi Delta native strain of Beauveria bassiana for control of TPB. Midsouth Entomologist. 7:82-88.

Interpretive Summary: To the present day is clear that the complexity of the population dynamics in weedy hosts from season to season has made unfeasible to target the tarnished plan bug with any type of control. However, the experiences gained from the last 30 years of research should help to develop better and broader approaches by the use of microbial biopesticides to manage TPB in Mississippi. Among the microbial control agents, entomopathogenic fungi may have the greatest potential for controlling sucking insect pests such as TPB because of the fungi’s contact mode of action. Moreover, microbial biopesticides would be particularly well suited for TPB management because chemical insecticides are not labeled for TPB control on wild host plants and early season chemical application could increase development of resistance.

Technical Abstract: Previous works reported that Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) isolates from tarnished plant bug, TPB, Lygus lineolaris Palisot de Beauvois, (Hemiptera: Miridae) have shown a great potential to be used as a microbial control for TPB, particularly the NI8 strain, isolated from the TPB from Mississippi Delta. The Mississippi Delta native strain NI8 has been studied for over ten years. Results from those studies have demonstrated that NI8 strain has better characteristics of pathogenicity based on LC50 values, in vitro conidia production, temperature growth optima, tolerance to solar radiation, and production of beauvericin than the commercially available strain, GHA. The NI8 strain may offer an alternative to chemical pesticides protecting natural enemies without leading to secondary pests.