Entomopathogenic Action of Wild Fungal Strains against Stored Product Beetle Pests

There is ample evidence that entomopathogenic fungi can be used as alternative biological control agents for the management of insect pests in storage facilities. As the market demands more environmentally friendly methods and chemical insecticides become increasingly obsolete, more studies are being conducted to evaluate new strains of entomopathogenic fungi for their efficacy in storage facilities. In this context, we tested ten species of fungi isolated from soil, belonging to the genera Cladosporium, Condenascus, Lecanicillium, and Penicillium, for their long-term effects on economically important beetle species. Whole wheat was directly sprayed with a conidial suspension of 10⁸ spores/Ml of each of the tested fungi and then adults of Sitophilus granarius, S. oryzae, S. zeamais, Rhyzopertha dominica, and Trogoderma granarium were placed on the sprayed medium to study the mortality effects. Significantly higher mortality than the control was observed in all treatments. The lowest LT₅₀ (9.164 days) was observed in T. granarium infected with Penicillium goetzii. The isolate with the strongest results was L. dimorphum, which recorded remarkably low LT₅₀ values in S. oryzae (~11 days), R. dominica (~12 days), T. granarium (~10 days), and S. granarius (~13 days). However, for S. zeamais, it was more than 16 days. Our results confirm the existing literature on the efficacy of EPF on storage beetles, suggest the possible virulence of wild untested strains, and also highlight the importance of EPF specificity.