Nematophagous fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus (Thom) Samson is also a biological agent for control of greenhouse insects and mite pests

Abstract

Pathogenicity of nematophagous fungus Paecilomyces lilacinus (Thom) Samson in control of the most destructive greenhouse pests such as: greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, glasshouse red spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii and western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis was examined in laboratory and pot experiments. The fungus showed the greatest efficacy in controlling winged and wingless forms of the cotton aphid. The cotton aphid's population was almost totally eliminated. In controlling the greenhouse whitefly, P. lilacinus was most successful when applied against nymphal growth stages (L3-L4). Control of the western flower thrips was most efficient against prepupal and pupal stages when the fungus was applied as a water spore suspension to the soil. When the fungus was applied at temperatures below 10°C, it was able to reduce a glasshouse red spider mite population by 60%. © 2007 International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC).