Biological control of the Pulse beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus in stored grains using the entomopathogenic
Balasubramanian Malaikozhundan1, Jayaraj Vinodhini2
1Biomaterials and Biotechnology in Animal Health Lab, Department of Animal Health and Management, Alagappa University, Science Campus 6th Floor, Burma Colony, Karaikudi 630 004, Tamil Nadu, India.
Abstract:
In the present study, we reported the biological control of stored product insect pest, Callosobruchus maculatus using the entomopathogenic bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis. A significant delay in the larval, pupal and total development period of C. maculatus was observed after treatment with B. thuringiensis at 4 × 108 cells/mL. Furthermore, B. thuringiensis are highly effective in the control of C. maculatus and produced 100% mortality at 4 × 108 cells/mL. The LC50 value was estimated to be 3 × 107 cells/mL. In addition, a significant decrease in the activity of mid-gut α-amylase, cysteine protease, α & β-glucosidases, lipase, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was observed after treatment with B. thuringiensis at 4 × 108 cells/mL. This study concludes that B. thuringiensis are more effective against C. maculatus and could be used as a potential biological control agent in the management of stored product insect pests in the future.
