Effect of storage temperatures on the pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana formulations against the cottonleaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera:

Mohamed, Hussein Farid; Mohamed, Sahar Sayed Ali; Sweilem, Mahmoud Abd-elmohsen; El-Sharkawy, Reyad Mohamed; El-khawaga, Ola Elsayed Abd Alrahman

doi:10.21608/jbes.2023.372255

Effect of storage temperatures on the pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana formulations against the cottonleaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera:

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Biological Applications Department, Nuclear Research Centre, Atomic Energy Authority, Egypt.

² Bio-Insecticide Production Unit, Plant Protection Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Giza, Egypt

³ Botany department, Faculty of Science, Benha University, Egypt.

⁴ Biological Applications Department, Nuclear Research Centre, Atomic Energy Authority, Egypt

10.21608/jbes.2023.372255

Abstract

The aerial conidia of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana served as the basis for the preparationof
the wettable powder and inverted emulsion formulations. We evaluated the insecticidal efficacy of preparedconidia against the second-instar larva of the Cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, according to storagetemperature in order to establish the ideal conditions for long-term storage. The formulations' pathogenicity to S. littoralis larvae varied significantly, according to an analysis of mortalitydata. The formulation that best preserved the pathogenicity of conidia for a longer period of time was wettablepowder. Formula kept at freezing conditions -10°C was more virulent comparing to formula kept at coolingconditions 4°C and at the room temperature (25°C). This finding implies that conidial pathogenicityismaintained at low and moderate temperatures.

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