Efficacy of field-collected pathogens against chewing and sucking insects

This research aims to evaluate the efficacy of field-collected entomopathogenic fungi against chewing and sucking insects. The field-collected fungi are isolated from cadavers of insects and identified based on their colony color, as White and Pink, until further identification takes place using molecular techniques. The collected test insects (Corn Earworm (CEW)(chewing) and squash bugs (sucking)) were dipped into a fungal suspension, and the insect diet was sprayed with 500 µl of a fungal suspension and then placed into a petri dish. For comparison, control groups were treated with sterilized water, and data was collected every two days until the test insects entered the pupal stage. Dip assay results showed that the rate of growth of the CEW treated with pink and white strains was lower compared to the control groups, 1.17g, 1.06g, and 1.25g, respectively. Spray assay results showed the rate of growth of the CEW treated with pink and white strains was lower than the control groups, 0.59g, 0.57g, and 0.6g, respectively. The number of days to pupation seems to be impacted by the entomopathogenic fungi. A Dip assay of the squash bugs showed that within three days, there was a 50% mortality rate in the pink and white strains. The study of the squash bug is at its preliminary stage, so dip and spray assay will be conducted in the upcoming season. This fungus shows its potential as a biological control agent in controlling the insect pest population.