Isolation of Clonostachys rosea and Characterizing Its Entomopathogenic Activity against Dubas Bug ( Ommatissus lybicus ) Nymphs and Adults

Salem S. Al-Nabhani (), Elham Ahmed Kazerooni, Suad Al-Raqmi, Maryam Al-Hashmi, Shah Hussain, Rethinasamy Velazhahan and Abdullah M. Al-Sadi ()
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Salem S. Al-Nabhani: Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Muscat P.O. Box 50, Oman
Elham Ahmed Kazerooni: Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khoud P.O. Box 34, Muscat 123, Oman
Suad Al-Raqmi: Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Muscat P.O. Box 50, Oman
Maryam Al-Hashmi: Directorate General of Agriculture and Livestock Research, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Muscat P.O. Box 50, Oman
Shah Hussain: Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khoud P.O. Box 34, Muscat 123, Oman
Rethinasamy Velazhahan: Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khoud P.O. Box 34, Muscat 123, Oman
Abdullah M. Al-Sadi: Department of Plant Sciences, College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khoud P.O. Box 34, Muscat 123, Oman

Agriculture, 2024, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: The Dubas bug is a serious and widespread pest of date palms in several countries in the Middle East. Chemical pesticides are widely used for managing this pest; however, most pesticides fail due to the continuous development of pesticide resistance. The primary goal of this research was to isolate endophytic fungi and test their entomopathogenic activity against Dubas bug nymphs and adults. A total of 27 fungal isolates were obtained and identified using the nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS) region. These strains represent 16 species, belonging to 10 genera of seven different families, Ascomycota with six families and Basidiomycota with a single family, Quambalariaceae . Due to its remarkable biological control ability against insect pests, Clonostachys rosea was further studied for its entomopathogenic activity against Ommatissus lybicus nymphs and adults in comparison to a commercial strain of Beauveria bassiana . The concentration of 1 × 10 8 conidia/mL of the selected endophytic isolate was used in lab experiments targeting Dubas bug healthy nymphs and adults. After 7 days of C. rosea treatment, the isolate caused significant mortality rates of 85% in the adult insects, while the mortality rates were moderate in the nymphs (33%). The commercial strain of B. bassiana resulted in 100% mortality levels in nymphs and adults of the Dubas bug. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of O. lybicus adults treated with C. rosea and B. bassiana showed mycelium growing on the eye, antenna, cuticle, and egg oviposition parts of O. lybicus. Mycelium growth of both fungi was also evident on the nymphs. This study reports for the first time the isolation of C. rosea from the Dubas bug, and its high entomopathogenic activity against an adult population of O. lybicus .

Keywords: biological control; biopesticide; endophyte; insects; pest management; quarantine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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