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Pathogenic potential of native entomopathogenic fungi against Corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

Marina Aziz, Usman Khalique, Fazeela Zarin, Nimra Ateeq, Zainab Saeed, Sana Karim, Imrana Subhan, Ayesha Sadeeqa, Mohsan Ali, Farrah Zaidi

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ABSTRACT

The current experiment was conducted to evaluate the pathogenic potential of native isolates of entomopathogenic fungi viz., Nomuraea rileyi, Aspergillus parasiticus, A. niger and A. flavus against corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea under laboratory conditions. The spore concentration of each tested fungi were adjusted to 1 × 10⁸ spores/ mL and 10 µL volume of each was topically inoculated on dorsal side of the 3^rd instar larvae. The experimental results revealed that the A. parasiticus and N. rileyi was found highly virulent to cause earliest first mortality, maximum total mortality and minimum adult emergence of H. zea. Larval and pupal duration of H. zea was not affected by the tested entomopathogenic fungi. With respect to lethal time to kill 50% population of H. zea larvae, the lowest LT₅₀ value was recorded for A. parasiticus (7.14 days) as compared to other tested fungi. It is concluded that the A. parasiticus and N. rileyi have the potential to combat H. zea populations and could be used in successful Integrated Pest Management programs after ensuring biosafety evaluations.

Keywords: Aspergillus parasiticus, corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea, Nomuraea rileyi, lethal time