Compatibility of entomopathogenic fungi and botanicals against sucking pests of okra: an ecofriendly approach

Abstract

Background Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus (Linn.) Moench, is one of the most important traditional vegetables in India. The crop is attacked severely by sucking pests, viz., jassid, Amrasca biguttula biguttula Ishida, and whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Genn., throughout its growth period. To control these sucking pests, different entomopathogenic fungi (EPF), viz., Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Lecanicillium lecanii were tested alone and their 1:1 combinations with neem oil against these sucking pests and compared to Imidacloprid 17.8% SL as chemical control under field conditions during 2018 and 2019. Results Among the EPF tested, the lowest jassid (1.16, 1.27 leaf-1) and whitefly (1.33, 0.84 leaf-1) population was recorded in plots treated with L. lecanii during the two consecutive years. Combination of L. lecanii and neem oil at half of their recommended concentrations had the lowest jassid and whitefly population among all the treatments and maximum reduction over control and at par with chemical control, i.e., Imidacloprid 17.8 SL at 0.33 ml l−1. Moreover, all these biopesticides were found relatively safe to the polyphagous predators (Micraspis discolor, Menochilus sexmaculatus, and spiders) and at par with untreated control. In contrast, Imidacloprid 17.8 SL was the most toxic among all the treatments with the lowest numbers of spiders and ladybird beetles. Conclusion Combination of the EPF like B. bassiana, M. anisopliae, and L. lecanii with neem oil at half of their recommended concentrations could be a viable ecofriendly option in the management of the sucking pests of okra, along with the conservation of natural enemies.

Integrated Potential of Microbial, Botanical, and Chemical Pesticides for the Control of Viral Disease Vector Whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) on Tomato under Greenhouse and Field Perspectives

“…Interestingly, the integration of IPM components with B. bassiana AAUMB-29 showed a control index value of 100% followed by B. bassiana AAUMB-29 + Hunter 40 EC (90%). is result was similar to the finding that showed the integrated application of L. lecanii (2 × 10 9 spores/ml) with neem oil (0.5%) recorded the higher whitefly population reduction (71.57%) on Okra [60,64] and the combined application of B. bassiana (1 × 10 9 spores/ml) with half-field recommended doses of spinosad (0.25 ml/l) caused up to 89.35% reduction of whitefly populations over control treatments from cucumber [65] under field conditions. e field study also revealed that combined spray application of entomopathogenic fungi B. bassiana and M. anisopliae with a sublethal dose of neem oil (0.5%) and Hunter 40 EC (1.25 ml/L) achieved 0.98 to 1.24-fold higher whitefly population reduction compared to single treatment applications.…”

Pesticidal Evaluation of Entomopathogenic Fungi and Selected Medicinal Plants against Cabbage Aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae L.)

“…From the result, the combination of entomopathogenic fungi and A. indica extract showed promising results against nymphs and adult aphids. Similarly, the coapplication of entomopathogenic fungi and A. indica extract showed effective pesticidal activities and may become an effective component of insect pest management programs against various insect pests [48]. In this study, about 75% of nymph and adult aphids were killed by coapplication of the products.…”

“…We observed that the combination of plant extracts with entomopathogenic fungi significantly increased the mortality rates. Similarly, previous studies showed that the coapplication of plant extracts and entomopathogenic fungi significantly increased the mortality of several insect pests compared to individual application of plant extracts or entomopathogenic fungi [24,[46][47][48]. As explained by [49], A. indica products can be mixed with other bioproducts or with synergists to increase their efficacy due to the unique mode of action derivatives interfering with the hormonal system of insects.…”

“…In this study, about 75% of nymph and adult aphids were killed by coapplication of the products. e higher efficacy provided by the coapplication is due to the additive and synergistic interactions between plant extracts and entomopathogenic fungi [48,50].…”

Comparative Efficacy of Uphold and Closer Insecticide on the Developmental, Reproductive, Biochimical and Histological of the Spiny Bollworm, Earias insulana (Boisd.)

“…Sulfoxaflor inhibit and play an important role in interactions with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) of insect. The mixture of insecticides becomes more useful for applying a way for toxicity and mortality of various pests and reducing insect population (Liguori et al, 2010 andHalder et al, 2021). Under laboratory study, the used Uphold 36% SC (Spinetoram 6% + Methoxyfenozide 30%), when different instars E. insulana larvae were exposed and feeding, observed to stop feeding immediately and notice that time taken 3 to 5 days to kill the pest, (Kandil et al, 2022).…”