Efficacy of indigenous entomopathogenic fungi against the black aphid, Aphis fabae Scopoli under controlled conditions i
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Efficacy of indigenous entomopathogenic fungi against the black aphid, Aphis fabae Scopoli under controlled conditions in Tanzania Simon Boniface Boni 1 & Robert Abraham Mwashimaha 1,2 & Nickson Mlowe 1 & Paola Sotelo-Cardona 3 & Thibault Nordey 1,4 Received: 7 May 2020 / Accepted: 6 November 2020 # African Association of Insect Scientists 2020
Abstract Worldwide application of synthetic insecticides as a main way of controlling aphids on various crops has resulted in diverse problems such as failures in pest control, negative public health and environmental impacts, and a build-up of resistance against insecticides by insect pests. Entomopathogenic fungi can be used as an alternative to insecticides since they offer the benefit of being environmentally friendly, without the risk of insect pests developing resistance. This study assessed 19 different indigenous fungi in the laboratory for their ability to control Aphis fabae Scopoli at various conidial concentrations (104, 105, 106 and 107 spores/ml) using the detached leaf method. A. fabae adults were reared on potted cowpea in cages. Both the 19 fungus types and their respective conidial concentrations used to treat A. fabae differed significantly (P < 0.001) in their ability to kill the pest. The A. fabae mortality rate increased in line with the increase in the conidial concentration of the fungus type, and Aspergillus flavus Link S18 and S19 performed better than the other fungus types evaluated. Aspergillus flavus S18 and S19 are recommended for further tests in the greenhouse to validate the laboratory results. The fact that the Aspergillus strains isolated and tested were all aflatoxin-producing strains calls for caution regarding their potential impacts on human and animal health. Further studies are recommended to conduct similar experiments using non-aflatoxin-producing strains of A. flavus, in order to determine whether they have similar effects on A. fabae. Keywords Biocontrol . Mycopesticide . Cowpea pests . World Vegetable Center . Aspergillus
Introduction Aphids are generally serious pests in agricultural and horticultural crops all over the world, causing direct damage by sucking plant sap, and indirect damage through the transmission of more than 300 plant pathogenic viruses, and contamination through honeydew deposits on the surface of plant foliage, thus favoring
* Simon Boniface Boni [email protected] 1
The World Vegetable Center, Eastern and Southern Africa, P. O. Box 10, Duluti, Arusha, Tanzania
2
Present address: Multiflower Ltd, P. O. Box 14387, Arusha, Tanzania
3
The World Vegetable Center, 60 Yi Ming Liao, Shanhua, Tainan 74151, Taiwan, Republic of China
4
CIRAD - UR HortSys, Montpellier University, Montpellier, France
the growth of sooty mold which reduces photosynthetic surface (Hogenhout et al. 2008; Van Emden and Harrington 2007). Both young (nymphs) and adult aphids feed on plant sap, attacking almost everywhere on plants; leaves, stem buds, flowers and fruits. In so doing, they cause c
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