In Vitro Efficacy of Native Entomopathogenic Fungi against Western Flower Thrips Frankliniella Occidentalis (Pergande) Of Tomato in Kenya
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Date
2019
Authors
Barasa, Mıchael Wabukala
Gathu, Ruth Kahuthıa
Mwangı, Maına
Wanjohi, Waceke
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Pen Academic publishing
Abstract
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) L. is an important crop in Kenya. Arthropod pests are major constraints to its production and farmers
rely heavily on synthetic chemicals for control, which increases costs and leads to pollution of the environment. The objective of
this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of native Kenyan fungi in managing thrips as an alternative to synthetic pesticides. In
vitro studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of native fungi against Frankliniella occidentalis collected from the
tomato fields and maintained in the laboratory. The fungi were isolated from soil samples from tomato fields and identified based
on their vegetative and reproductive structures. Treatments included fungal isolates and a control; replicated four times arranged
in a completely randomized design. The effect of the fungal isolates on F. occidentalis was evaluated by treating thrips with
concentrations of 1.0 x107
conidia ml-1
. Data on mortality of F. occidentalis was recorded daily for 10 days after treatment. Percent
mortality was subjected to Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) using SAS software version 9.4 to test the effect of different treatments.
Means were separated using Student Newman-Keuls test at P≤0.05. Gliocladium virens, Trichoderma virens, Fusarium solani, Fusarium
oxysporum and Trichoderma afroharzianum were more virulent causing mortalities above 50%. Gliocladium virens was the most
potent, causing 62.2% mortality in adults and 43.8% in nymphs at 1.0 x107
conidia ml-1
. The findings of this study showed that
Gliocladium virens is a potential candidate for development as a fungal-based bio-pesticide against F. occidentalis on tomato.
Further studies are warranted to determine the effectiveness of G. virens in controlling F. occidentalis under field conditions.
Description
Article
Keywords
Gliocladium virens, insecticidal activity, pesticides, thrips, tomato
Citation
Barasa, M. W., Gathu, R. K., Mwangi, M., & Wanjohi, J. W. (2019). In Vitro Efficacy of Native Entomopathogenic Fungi Against Western Flower Thrips Frankliniella Occidentalis (Pergande) of Tomato in Kenya. J. Nat. Sci. Res, 9(12), 10-7176.