Pathogenicity of Entomopathogenic Fungi to the Green Peach Aphid Myzus persicae Sulzer (Aphididae) and the European Tarnished Bug Lygus rugulipennis Poppius (Miridae)

To reduce economic losses, producers have no choice than controlling pests by chemical insecticides with their negative impact on the environment as well as on beneficial organisms. In this context, efficient and selective biological control agents such as entomopathogenic fungi should be integrated in pest management strategies. Screening experiments showed the pathogenicity of 16 fungal strains belong to the species Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo-Crivelli) Vuillemin, B. brongniartii (Sacc.) Petch, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin, Lecanicillium lecanii (Zare and Gams) and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus Vassiljevsky against the two plant sap sucking pests, the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae Sulzer and and the European tarnished bug, Lygus rugulipennis Poppius. Bioassays established on treated Chinese cabbage leaves and bean pods for M persicae and L. rugulipennis, respectively, allowed to evaluate the most pathogenic strains for controlling each pest. The two strains ART41 and ART2580 of B. bassiana showed highest pathogenicity on M persicae with a mortality rate of 92 and 98%, respectively, seven days post treatment. Mortality rates of L. rugulipennis reached 92 and 98% seven days after treatment for the B. bassiana strains ART2580 and ART360BB, respectively. These results should be confirmed in open field experiments by exposing both insects to the suggested B. bassiana strains.