PATHOGENICITYOF INDIGENOUS Beauveria bassiana (BALSAMO) VUILLEMIN ISOLATES AGAINST DIAMONDBACK MOTH, Plutella xylostella

B. LINCY KIRUBHADHARSINI¹*, S. NAKKEERAN², T. MANOHARAN³, K. GUNASEKARAN^4
1Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
²Department of Plant Pathology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
³Department of Agricultural Entomology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, 641003, India
⁴Department of Crop Protection, Anbil Dharmalingam Agricultural College and Research Institute, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu 620009, India
* Corresponding Author : lincyagri@gmail.com

Received : 09-12-2016     Accepted : 17-12-2016     Published : 24-12-2016
Volume : 8     Issue : 62       Pages : 3512 - 3514
Int J Agr Sci 8.62 (2016):3512-3514

Keywords : Entomopathogenic fungi, Diamondback moth, Bioassays
Academic Editor : Sampath Kumar
Conflict of Interest : None declared
Acknowledgements/Funding : The corresponding author is thankful to Mr. K. Chandrasekar (TNAU, Coimbatore), Dr. Shanmugam (KVK, Dharmapuri) and Dr. T. Sudarraj (KVK, Krishnagiri) for the help rendered during the collection of isolates
Author Contribution : None Declared

Larval bio-assays were conducted to evaluate the virulence of B. bassiana isolates against diamondback moth, P. xylostella. A total of eight isolates from different parts of Tamil Nadu and one isolate from Punjab were collected through extensive surveys. Local isolates of B. bassiana, BbI8 and BbI3 recorded the highest mean mortality per cent of 86.67 and 83.33, respectively. Virulent isolates thus identified can be further mass produced at larger scale and successfully employed for the biological control of diamondback moth as an innovative tool in the integrated pest management.