natural establishment of Entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium on the invasive Fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).Under climatic condition of Punjab Pakistan

natural establishment of Entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium on the invasive Fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).Under climatic condition of Punjab Pakistan

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the natural establishment of Metarhizium anisopliae as endophytes in maize plants, and its effect in controlling the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae under climatic condition of Pakistan . The commercial strains  M. anisopliae Ma-30 were concentrated at 1 × 108 conidia ml−1, and the soil drench method was used to establish them as endophytes in maize plant parts. The biological control assays were conducted under laboratory conditions on second and fourth larval instars of S. frugiperda. B. bassiana colonized roots, stems, and leaves of maize tissues. However, a high occurrence of  M. anisopliae was only acquired on roots. Entomopathogenic fungi caused (190%) mortality on the second first and instar  larvae. In addition, M. anisopliae killed (74%) of the fourth larval instars, respectively. The fungus M. anisopliae caused the highest sporulation rates during the study. These results suggest
that the entomopathogenic fungi might contribute to a sustainable S. frugiperda management in maize production in Punjab Pakistan.