AUTHOR=Idrees Atif , Afzal Ayesha , Qadir Ziyad Abdul , Li Jun 

TITLE=Virulence of entomopathogenic fungi against fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under laboratory conditions

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1107434

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2023.1107434

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p>Maize is an essential crop of China. The recent invasion of <italic>Spodoptera frugiperda</italic>, also known as fall armyworm (FAW), poses a danger to the country’s ability to maintain a sustainable level of productivity from this core crop. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) <italic>Metarhizium anisopliae</italic> MA, <italic>Penicillium citrinum</italic> CTD-28 and CTD-2, <italic>Cladosporium</italic> sp. BM-8, <italic>Aspergillus</italic> sp. SE-25 and SE-5, <italic>Metarhizium sp.</italic> CA-7, and <italic>Syncephalastrum racemosum</italic> SR-23 were tested to determine their effectiveness in causing mortality in second instars, eggs, and neonate larvae. <italic>Metarhizium anisopliae</italic> MA, <italic>P. citrinum</italic> CTD-28, and <italic>Cladosporium</italic> sp. BM-8 caused the highest levels of egg mortality, with 86.0, 75.3, and 70.0%, respectively, followed by <italic>Penicillium</italic> sp. CTD-2 (60.0%). Additionally, <italic>M. anisopliae</italic> MA caused the highest neonatal mortality of 57.1%, followed by P. <italic>citrinum</italic> CTD-28 (40.7%). In addition, <italic>M. anisopliae</italic> MA, <italic>P. citrinum</italic> CTD-28, and <italic>Penicillium</italic> sp. CTD-2 decreased the feeding efficacy of second instar larvae of FAW by 77.8, 75.0, and 68.1%, respectively, followed by <italic>Cladosporium</italic> sp. BM-8 (59.7%). It is possible that EPF will play an important role as microbial agents against FAW after further research is conducted on the effectiveness of these EPF in the field.</p>