Evaluation of three different insect pathogenic fungi for the control of Dysdercus koenigii and Oxycarenus hyalinipennis

Red cotton bug,dysdercus koenigii and dusky cotton bug,oxycarenus hyalinipennis are progressively gaining the status of primary pests in asia due to the overuse of chemical insecticides. for the use of biological control in pest management,this study assessed the effectiveness of three different entomopathogenic fungi i.e.,beauveria bassiana (bb-08),isaria fumosorosea (if-2.3) and metarhizium anisopliae (ma-2.3) on adults of d. koenigii and o. hyalinipennis using immersion method under laboratory conditions of 28±1°c,60-70% rh and 10l:14d hrs photoperiod. among these insect pathogenic fungi,b. bassiana divulged the lowest lc50 values (2.4×107 spores/ml,2.5×107 spores/ml) on d. koenigii and o. hyalinipennis,with lt50 values of 5.09 and 4.32 days at higher concentrations of 3×108 spores/ml,respectively. current study opens the new possibilities of using these entomopathogens as a substitute to chemical pesticides and their use in association with integrated pest management. copyright 2014 zoological society of pakistan.