Entomopathogenic fungi isolated from the soil of Terengganu,Malaysia as potential bio-pesticides against the Red Palm Weevil,Rhynchophorus ferrugineus

Red palm weevil,rhynchophorus ferrugineus (rpw) is a new invasive species that has infested coconut trees along the coastline of terengganu. it has also shown signs of plague in the inland of peninsular malaysia. entomopathogenic fungi (epf) is a natural antagonist of insects that has huge potential to be developed as bio-insecticides. indigenous epf has acclimatized to harsh environment and therefore would be effective to combat rpw. in this study,seven isolates of epf (metgra-1 - metgra-7) were isolated from the soil samples and bioassay was performed against the adult rpws by evaluating the mortality and hyphae growth on rpw cadavers. metgra-4 and metgra-7 showed promising results as first mortalities were observed on the 4th and 5th day respectively. both strains achieved 100% cumulative mortality by 20th day of inoculation. the et50 was achieved on eighth day for metgra-7 and tenth day for metgra-4. this study on indigenous epf served as a platform to search for potential bio-pesticide against the rpw threat that could affect the economics of coconut and palm oil industries. © penerbit umt.