Efficacy of entomopathogenic fungi against codling moth, Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Cydia pomonella L. is a highly destructive pest inflicting substantial damage on pome fruits globally. Resistance to chemical pesticides by C. pomonella poses a significant challenge to the effective management strategies. Utilising entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) for the management of insect pests has emerged as one of the promising and environmentally friendly alternatives. Against this backdrop, we conducted laboratory bioassays to assess the efficacy of three EPF, namely Beauveria bassiana (Bals.-Criv.) Vuill., Cordyceps fumosorosea (Wize) and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn.) Sorok & imacr;n against C. pomonella using three effective concentrations (1 x 10(4), 1 x 10(5), and 1 x 10(6) conidia/ml). Highest larval (98.62 +/- 10.00%) and pupal (37.35 +/- 2.15%) mortality was observed when treated with B. bassiana while lowest larval (51.55 +/- 6.30%) and pupal (17.83 +/- 7.28%) mortality was seen in C. fumosorosea. Maximum adult emergence (16.26 +/- 3.24) was recorded in C. fumosorosea and the minimum (5.72 +/- 0.09) in B. bassiana. LC50 values of C. fumosorosea, M. anisopliae and B. bassiana were 5.482, 2.683 and 1.891 conidia/ml, respectively. All three tested EPF were effective against C. pomonella under controlled laboratory conditions.