Effect of powdery formulation of entomopathogenic fungi on rice plants infested with African rice gall midge (AfRGM-Orseolia oryzivora)

Authors

  • O.E. Oyetunji Depatment of Biosciences and Biotechnology, University of Medical Sciences, Ondo
  • A. C. Odebode Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
  • F.E. Nwilene Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), IITA, P.M.B. 5320, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
  • O.A. Kolade Virology Unit, IITA, P.M.B. 5320, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
  • B.C. Kotun Department of Biological Sciences, Caleb University Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Orseolia oryzivora (AfRGM), is a serious insect pest of rainfed and irrigated lowland rice in Africa which has resulted in huge yield losses on rice farms. The widespread usage of chemical pesticides for pest management has raised ecological and human health concerns, prompting a quest for alternatives. Objectives: This work was conducted to assess entomopathogenic fungi effect for controlling of Orseolia oryzivora using powdery formulation for easy application by the farmer on the field. Methods: Powdery formulation of Entomopathogenic fungi – EPF (Beauveria bassiana and, Metarhizium anisopliae) prepared in laboratory, were applied to the test plants to control adult AfRGM. The experimentation was established using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) method, which was replicated thrice inside cages in the screen house. Level of infestation was monitored while the agronomic data and physiological parameters were taken and analyzed. Results: Plants treated with B. bassiana Bba 5653 had the lowest tiller infestation with highest non-infested tiller followed by B. bassiana Bba 5654 and B. bassiana Bba 326 with percentage non-infested tiller of 89.14%, 85.94% and 76.49% respectively. Conclusion: Powdery formulation of B. bassiana effectively controlled AfRGM without negative effect on chlorophyll content, stem girth, grain weight, leaflength and breadth.     

Keywords: Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisoplae, Orseolia oryzivora, Entomopathogenic fungi, Rice, Powdery

Downloads

Published

2024-10-02

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2024): Maiden Edition

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

All articles in the Journal of Environmental Management and Toxicology (JEMT) are licensed and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, and indicate if changes were made. See https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/