Ahmed*, S. Kerhili and R. Saud
(1) Department of Biological Control, Homs Agriculture Directorate, Syria; (2) Department of Plant protection, Faculty of agriculture, Homs University, Syria; (3) Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Homs University, Syria.
*Email address of the corresponding author: [email protected]
The presence of the pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana was investigated in the local soils in Homs Governorate, Syria. 24 soil samples were collected from different areas, using Galleria bait method. Two isolates were obtained, B1 from Dahr al-Qusayr area (chestnut forest), and B2 from Umm Haratein area (strawberry field). Both isolates were identified based on morphological and microscopic characteristics. The results obtained showed that B. bassiana was pathogenic to G. mellonella larvae, as the larval mortality rate, 10 days after treatment was 68.75 and 48.33% for isolates B1 and B2, respectively. The LT50 was 6.03 and 9.5 days for isolates B1 and B2, respectively. The radial growth at 25°C, 20 days after cultivation, was 52.67 and 40 mm for the isolates B1 and B2, respectively. A linear correlation was found between the radial growth of isolates B1 and B2 and time, and reached 0.928 and 0.93 for isolates B1 and B2, respectively.
Entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana, Galleria bait, radial growth.
https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-001424