Entomopathogenic nematodes against the main guava insect pests

Abstract

The common guava, yellow guava, or lemon guava, Psidium guajava L. (Myrtaceae), is native to the Americas and widely cultivated in more than 50 tropical and subtropical countries. There are many insect pests that limit guava production. Biological control should be considered to avoid extensive use of insecticides. Entomopathogenic nematodes can be very effective against life stages in the soil. Therefore, this review aims to summarize most studies carried out for control of guava pests by entomopathogenic nematodes.

Biological control potential of entomopathogenic nematodes for management of Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa Loew (Tephritidae)

“…Nematode‐repelling chemical exudates from pupating larvae may also be released during pupation . However, IJs may have simply infected and killed more Caribfly adults in soils than in filter paper assays . Higher pupal mortalities achieved by the largest and longest steinernematids ( S. diapresi , S. glasseri and S. glasseri‐ group) in soil bioassays could be attributed to the fact that their IJs have more fat deposits in their body and are likely to survive for a longer period of time and still remain actively infectious in soil until adult flies emerge from pupae (buried in soils) to tunnel through soils for emergence …”

“…Until this study, H. indica has not been noted for being extremely virulent to a wide range of fruit flies . However, H. bacteriophora has been reported as the most virulent EPN to Mediterranean fruit fly ( Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann), Mexican fruit fly ( Anastrepha ludens Loew), peach fruit fly ( Bactrocera zonata Saunders), etc., whereas S. feltiae is more entomopathogenic to European cherry fruit fly ( Rhagoletis cerasi L.), Queensland fruit fly ( Bactrocera tryoni Froggatt), olive fruit fly ( Bactrocera olae Rossi) and others . S. feltiae and H. bacteriophora are widely distributed in temperate, subtropical, Mediterranean, tropical and semi‐arid regions; their commercial products are available in the United States, Europe, etc., and have been preferred to H. indica and extensively applied to many target insect pests .…”

“…Susceptible insect pests are not able to develop induced immunity to EPN infections . EPNs have not been used to manage Caribfly, perhaps because of limited information on virulence of nematodes to A. suspensa . Because EPN species vary in efficacy against specific arthropod targets, it is necessary to determine virulence for a wide range of species or isolates of Heterorhabditis and Steinernema for assessment of their biological control potential for Caribfly in groves…”

Recent Advances in Management of Fruit Fly for Guava Orchards: A Short Review

“…Entomopathogenic nematodes can be very effective against life stages in the soil (Dolinski, 2016). Ploughing or raking of soil and treatment with Metarrhiziumanisopliae @ 5 kg/ha to the soil underneath the tree canopy reduces fruit flies (Firake et al, 2013).…”

Biological control of tree and woody plant diseases: an impossible task?

“…To avoid the environmental concerns caused by the effects of pesticides, alternative measures are being developed, including those based on biological control. Dolinski (2016) presents in this Special Issue a review on how natural pathogens of insects, such as the entomopathogenic nematodes, often play an important role in regulating insect pest populations, and proposes them as components of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs.…”