Pathogenicity Of Metarhizium Anisopliae, Beauveria Bassiana And Aspergillus Sp. To Periplaneta Americana (Blattodea: Blattidae) Females

Abstract:
Entomopathogens have been used in many agricultural and veterinary programs of pest control. Studies with fungi have shown great potential for control of urban pests, such as cockroaches, but there are few studies on the subject. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the pathogenicity of entomopathogenic fungi to females of Periplaneta americana. The treatments were: T1 - no fungus application and T2 - solution of 0.1% Tween 80 (TW). For T3-T11 suspensions were made with TW: T3 - 3 x 108 conidia/ml of E9 strain of Metarhizium anisopliae (Ma), T4 - 3 x 107 conidia/ml of Ma, T5 - 3 x 106 conidia/ml of Ma, T6 - 3 x 108 conidia/ml of IBCB 35 strain of Beauveria bassiana (Bb), T7 - 3 x 107 conidia/ml of Bb, T8 - 3 x 106 conidia/ml of Bb, T9 - 3 x 108 conidia/ml of JAB 42 strain of Aspergillus sp. (Asp), T10 - 3 x 107 conidia/ml of Asp and T11- 3 x 106 conidia/ml of Asp. Females were sprayed with 100 μl of the suspensions and kept at 27 ± 0.5oC and 80% RH in the dark. Mortality and fungus extrusion rate were evaluated for 20 days. Data was analyzed using Scott Knott (p≤0.05) and transformed to √x +1. The highest mortality and extrusion rate (48%) occurred with T3. There was no significant difference in time of death (6 to 10 days). All fungi were pathogenic to Periplaneta americana females. T3 could be a tool for integrated pest management.