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Potential of a granulovirus isolate to control Phthorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

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Abstract

In this study a Brazilian granulovirus strain, PhopGV, isolated from the potato tuber moth (PTM) Phthorimaea operculella, was investigated regarding its potential for biological control and in vivo production. The relationship between mortality of P. operculella larvae and virus concentration was determined at different temperatures on potato tubers and susceptibility of P. operculella to PhopGV was also determined on potato leaves. Virulence of PhopGV to P. operculella was not affected by temperatures from 18 to 30°C. The median lethal concentration (LC50) of larvae fed on potato foliage treated with PhopGV was not higher than that verified with larvae fed on treated tubers. Optimal conditions for production of virus-infected larvae were obtained by using the virus suspensions of 41 × 105, 6.3 × 105 and 62 × 105 OBs ml−1 at 18, 24 and 30°C, which resulted in 32.0, 31.4 and 34.8% of infected larvae collected, respectively. The maximum percentage of infected larvae recovered from tubers was not affected by temperature. However, time for production of virus-infected larvae was longer at 18°C and shorter at 30°C. Persistence of PhopGV was determined on stored tubers and we observed that the virus remained effective for at least two months, causing up to 84.2% mortality of P. operculella at 1 × 107 OBs ml−1. The pathogen was also highly virulent to tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta, inflicting high percentage of mortality, delaying larval growth and inhibiting pupation. This Brazilian PhopGV strain has potential to control PTM larvae on potato tubers at a broad range of temperature and can be produced in vivo using virus-treated tubers.

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Acknowledgements

The first author received scholarship from CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior). We thank Ane H. de Medeiros for reviewing the manuscript and Rogério B. Lopes for helping to design the experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Entomologia e Acarologia, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, ESALQ/USP, Avenida Pádua Dias, C.P. 9, n. 11, 13418-900, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Gabriel Moura Mascarin, Sérgio Batista Alves, Fátima Teresinha Rampelotti-Ferreira & Italo Delalibera Jr.

  2. Exact Sciences Department, ESALQ/University of São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias, 11, 13418-900, Piracicaba, SP, Brazil

    Mariana Ragassi Urbano & Clarice Garcia Borges Demétrio

Authors
  1. Gabriel Moura Mascarin
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  2. Sérgio Batista Alves
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  3. Fátima Teresinha Rampelotti-Ferreira
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  4. Mariana Ragassi Urbano
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  5. Clarice Garcia Borges Demétrio
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  6. Italo Delalibera Jr.
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Correspondence to Italo Delalibera Jr..

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Handling Editor: Helen Roy.

Sérgio Batista Alves—In memoriam.

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Mascarin, G.M., Alves, S.B., Rampelotti-Ferreira, F.T. et al. Potential of a granulovirus isolate to control Phthorimaea operculella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). BioControl 55, 657–671 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-010-9277-y

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