Abstract
The tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) is an invasive pest of tomatoes spread rapidly and the damage caused by its larvae has received great attention for its management in tomato-growing regions of the world. In India, it was reported recently and spread fast throughout the whole country. To overcome this problem attempt was made to identify an entomopathogenic fungus and its pathogenicity tested against T. absoluta for sustainable pest management. In the present study, a fungus was isolated from the soil using the Galleria bait method and was characterized morphologically and with phylogenetic analysis, it turned out to be a Simplicillium obclavatum (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae). Its pathogenicity was evaluated against T. absoluta in the laboratory and the result showed 50.83 ± 2.29% mortality towards fourth instar larvae at 1.0 × 1010 fungal concentration after seven days of incubation. This report thus demonstrates the pathogenic nature of this newly isolated S. obclavatum from native soil and its efficay. To our understanding, this is the first report of S. obclavatum infecting T. absoluta from India.
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Acknowledgements
Senior author is thankful to the Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, for providing a fellowship to conduct research work. The authors are also thankful to ICAR-National Bureau of Agriculturally Insect Resources, Bengaluru, and the Director, MACS-Agharkar Research Institute, Pune, for providing facilities and assistance throughout this study.
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Bali, G.K., Maurya, D.K., Singh, S.K. et al. Morphology, phylogeny, and pathogenicity of Simplicillium obclavatum (Hypocreales: Cordycipitaceae) against tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Int J Trop Insect Sci 43, 355–361 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-00944-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-023-00944-5