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The effects of farming system, habitat type and bait type on the isolation of entomopathogenic fungi from citrus soils in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

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Abstract

A survey of occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi was undertaken on soils from citrus orchards and refugia on conventionally and organically managed farms in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. An adapted method for baiting soil samples with key citrus pest Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Meyrick; Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann; Diptera: Tephritidae) larvae, as well as with the standard bait insect, Galleria mellonella (Linnaeus; Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), was implemented. Sixty-two potentially useful entomopathogenic fungal isolates belonging to four genera were collected from 288 soil samples, an occurrence frequency of 21.53%. The most frequently isolated entomopathogenic fungal species was Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (15.63%), followed by Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin (3.82%). Galleria mellonella was the most effective bait insect used to isolate fungal species (χ 2 = 40.13, df = 2, P ≤ 0.005), with a total of 45 isolates obtained, followed by C. capitata with 11 isolates, and T. leucotreta with six isolates recovered. There was a significantly (χ 2 = 11.65, df = 1, P ≤ 0.005) higher occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi in soil samples taken from refugia compared to cultivated orchards of both organically and conventionally managed farms. No significant differences were observed in the recovery of fungal isolates when soil samples from both farming systems were compared.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Citrus Research International (CRI), Rhodes University and The Citrus Academy for providing financial and technical support. Thanks go to Dr. Tim Grout for reviewing the manuscript. Further thanks go to Ms M. Truter of the Mycology Unit at the Plant Protection and Research Institute (PPRI) in Pretoria, Ms. A. Manrakhan, Mr. C. Chambers, Mr. S. Apane, Mrs. K. Benyon, and Dr. J. Coetzee for technical, financial and statistical help and to Prof R. Hepburn and Mrs. A. Malan for helping with the acquisition of Galleria larvae.

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  1. Department of Zoology & Entomology, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    T. A. Goble & M. P Hill

  2. Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology & Biotechnology, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown, 6140, South Africa

    J. F. Dames

  3. Citrus Research International, P.O. Box 20285, Humewood, Port Elizabeth, 6013, South Africa

    S. D. Moore

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  1. T. A. Goble
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Correspondence to T. A. Goble.

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Goble, T.A., Dames, J.F., P Hill, M. et al. The effects of farming system, habitat type and bait type on the isolation of entomopathogenic fungi from citrus soils in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. BioControl 55, 399–412 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-009-9259-0

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