Efficacy of Beauveria bassiana (Hyphomycetes) for control of Russian wheat aphid (Homoptera: Aphididae) on resistant wheat under field conditions

The Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Kurdjumov) (Homoptera: Aphididae) is considered the most important pest of wheat produced under dryland field conditions in South Africa. As part of an integrated pest management strategy, the entomopathogenic hyphomycete Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin was evaluated in combination with antibiotic host plant resistance under dryland field conditions during 1998 and 1999. A commercial formulation, Mycotrol® ES, was applied at a rate of 2.4 L (5 × 1013 conidia) per hectare + 0.1% organosilicone surfactant. During both years, two applications were administered, i.e., on growth stages 31 (first node detectable) and 39 (early flag leaf). An additional treatment, application at growth stage 39 only, was included during 1999. Over the duration of the 1998 trial, ca. 65% fewer aphids were observed on treated plots compared with controls. A similar level of population reduction was observed during the 1999 trial; however, treatment effects were only briefly evident due to a rapid field-wide decline in aphid populations caused by adverse (cool, wet) weather conditions. The early application (GS 31) resulted in some level of control only during 1998. It was hypothesized that this phenomenon was the result of greater exposure to the spray applications and/or greater secondary pick-up of fungal inoculum by the aphids due to the higher level of aphid activity observed on the cultivar employed during that year. In this regard, migration of D. noxia onto the flag leaves should be further investigated as a behavioural trait for possible exploitation when considering the use of a mycoinsecticide.