Microbial control of maize army worm,mythimna separata (lepidoptera : Noctuidae) by entomopathogenic fungi

Mythimna separata is a destructive polyphagous insect of almost 33 plant species including maize and wheat. to evaluate the pathogenecity of entomopathogenic fungi,beauveria bassiana and isaria fumosorosea,a bioassay was conducted under laboratory conditions in which fungi were applied at different dose rates on different larval instars of m. separata. the results showed a dose and time dependent response on the mortality. both fungi were found to be effective at all concentrations,but the uppermost concentration (6×108 spores/ml) provided maximum control within short period of time (p<0.001). b. bassiana showed its effectiveness after 4th day of application,while the 50% mortality of test population treated by i. fumosorosea was recorded between 5-6 days of treatment. results are evident that entomopathogenic fungi have potential to be used for the management of m. separata. © 2013 zoological society of pakistan.