Assessment of Beauveria bassiana for the biological control of corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, in sweet maize by irrigation application

Authors: FENG, M - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHANG, YUNGYUE - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; Coates, Brad; DU, QIAN - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; GAO, YUEBO - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; LI, LILI - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; YUAN, HAIBIN - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; SUN, WEI - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; CHANG, XUE - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; ZHOU, SHUXIANG - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; WANG, YANGZHOU - Jilin Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: BioControl
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/23/2022
Publication Date: 1/16/2023
Citation: Feng, M., Zhang, Y., Coates, B.S., Du, Q., Gao, Y., Li, L., Yuan, H., Sun, W., Chang, X., Zhou, S., Wang, Y. 2023. Assessment of Beauveria bassiana for the biological control of corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis, in sweet maize by irrigation application. BioControl. 68: 49-60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-022-10175-1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-022-10175-1

Interpretive Summary: Species of corn borer are pest insects that feed on corn and can cause significant levels of crop damage. Sweet corn is produced for direct human consumption. Consumers prefer sweet corn with little to no corn borer damage. Intensive insect control methods, involving multiple chemical insecticide applications, are required. However, these control methods pose risks to non-target and beneficial organisms present in farm fields and to human health through consumption of insecticide residues. Biological control methods use natural enemies and pathogens as non-toxic alternatives to suppress insect damage to crop plants. An ARS researcher in an international collaboration determined the effectiveness of an insect-specific pathogenic fungus, Beauveria bassiana, for the control of corn borer damage on sweet corn. This study demonstrated that plants receiving applications of spores adhered to granular carriers or sprayed in a liquid solution showed significant reduction in corn borer damage compared to untreated plants. Applications of this fungus on dry granules led to greater reductions in damage compared to applications made in a liquid solution. This information is of interest to crop producers, particularly those pursuing organic production methods, as well as regulators and university, government, and industry stakeholders interested in biological control tactics.

Technical Abstract: Trickle irrigation is widely used in sweet maize production in arid and semiarid regions of western Jilin Province, China. Regions of lower humidity are less conducive to the efficacy of the biological control agent, Beauveria bassiana, for the control of Ostrinia furnacalis feeding damage. Greenhouse experiments were conducted comparing B. bassiana application on granules or in aqueous suspension on the control of O. furnacalis damage to sweet maize in simulate semi-arid conditions. Applications with granular and suspensions reduced the leaf feeding damage, number of boreholes and tunneling length, and narrowed the niche breadth of larvae. Treatments with B. bassiana on a granular carrier or in aqueous suspension resulted in the most significant reductions in maize damage when applied once at whorl stage and in combination with a second application at the ear stage. The greatest reductions in boring and tunneling attributed to these treatments occurred in the middle internodes. Furthermore, reductions in damage were greatest following granular compared to aqueous applications. This study demonstrates the utility of B. bassiana as a biological control agent for the control of corn borer damage to maize. This test provides a tactic for the control of second-generation O. furnacalis in sweet corn fields in arid and semiarid areas.