اكرم علي محمد الخزعلي

The khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium Everts (Coleoptera: Dermestidae), is an important pest of stored wheat worldwide. The current study assessed the efficacy of five Iraqi isolates of entomopathogenic fungi, including Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Cordycipitaceae) isolate Bb25, Lecanicillium attenuatum (Petch) Zare & Gams (Cordycipitaceae) isolate La90, Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin (Clavicipitaceae) isolate Ma42, Isaria fumosorosea (Wize) (Clavicipitaceae) isolate P10 and Chaetomium globosum (Kunze) (Chaetomiaceae) isolate CHG20, compared to a commercially produced B. bassiana strain GHA (Mycotrol® ESO). We also assessed the effects of fungal infection on the fecundity and longevity of adult female beetles under laboratory conditions of 30 ± 2°C and 65 ± 5% RH. Beauveria bassiana isolate Bb25 and M. anisopliae isolate Ma42 had the highest virulence compared to L. attenuatum isolate La90, C. globosum isolate CHG20, I. fumosorosea isolate P10 and Mycotrol® ESO. Abbott-corrected mortality of T. granarium after exposure to either B. bassiana or M. anisopliae, at 106 conidia ml–1, varied according to the beetle's developmental stage. First, second and third instars were more susceptible compared with fourth, fifth instars and adults at 10 d post-treatment. Beauveria bassiana isolate Bb25 and M. anisopliae isolate Ma42 caused about 50% reduction in total fecundity and about 20% reduction in longevity of the female adults. The results demonstrate that the two Iraqi isolates of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae have potential as a biological control agents of T. granarium; however, further studies under commercial storage conditions are required.

A series of laboratory experiments were conducted to study the effect of Iraqi entomopathogenic fungi Verticillium lecanii, and Isaria fumosorosea entomopathogenic on the mortality level of larval and adult stages of Green peach aphids Myzus persicae. The results showed that first and second instar nymphs were more susceptible to infection with both fungal species where the mortality levels were (96.9 and 93.9%) and (90 and 89.8%) respectively, compared to adult stage which was less susceptible to infection. The evaluation of effect of aphid host plant (cucmber, green pepper, eggplant) on the efficacy of V. lecanii and I. fumosorosea against third instar nymphs of M. persicae was showed that there was a significant effect of host plant species on the corrected mortality of M. persicae caused by V. lecanii and I. fumosorosea, with the highest rate of mortality recorded against M. persicae feeding on cucumber compared to green pepper and eggplant which was 95.5 and 87.5% respectively.

Aphids are one of the major insect pests of greenhouses and field crops worldwide. Several species of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF), including Lecanicillium spp. Beauveria bassiana, Isaria fumosorosea and Metarhizium anisopliae, have been developed commercially to control aphid species. However, there are no commercial products based on EPF that have been registered in Iraq. This study, therefore, was conducted to evaluate the virulence of four isolates of EPF, including, B. bassiana, Lecanicillium lecanii, M. anisopliae and Chaetomium globosum to select the highly virulent ones against the greenhouse aphids. Although the isolate of L. lecanii had the highest virulence against all tested aphid species in the laboratory bioassay, Myzus persicae Sulz and Aphis gossypii Gloy were more susceptible than Aphis fabae and Macrosiphum euphorbiae to infection with L. lecanii. Mortality caused by L. lecanii 7 days post-treatment with 108 conidia ml−1 was 100%. Further experiments in the greenhouses showed that L. lecanii significantly reduced the density of both M. persicae and A. gossypii 5 days after fungal applications. This isolate shows a promise for development of an alternative control agent against M. persicae and A. gossypii in Iraq.

A study of individual and combination between the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Ascomycota: Hypocreales) and aqueous extract of three plant species including Nerium (Nerium oleander), Elias (Myrtus communis) and Sweet acacia (Vachellia farnesiana) were evaluated against adult houseflies, Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae) in laboratory conditions. The fungal bioassay was carried out at different conidial concentrations ranging from1×104 to 1×109 spores ml-1. Four concentrations of aqueous extract of each plant (25, 50, 75 and 100%) were used. The highest concentration of M. anisopliae (1×109 spores ml-1) caused the highest adult houseflies mortality (100%), which was significantly different from the mortalities caused by the other fungal concentrations. Aqueous extract of Nerium was significantly more effective caused the highest adult mortality (83%) at high concentration (100%) compared with Elias and Sweet acacia (54 and 33% respectively). Therefore, three concentrations of aqueous extract of Nerium (50, 75 and 100%) were used along with 1×107 spores ml-1M. anisopliaeas an integrated pest management program against M. domestica. The combination of M. anisopliae and Nerium at all three concentrations caused more houseflies mortality than individual treatments of M. anisopliaeand Nerium respectively,7 days post-application. Thus, a combined application of an entomopathogenic fungus and aqueous extract of Nerium may benefit from both, and it has proven effective for the control of houseflies.

The predator Adalia bipunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and the entomopathogenic fungus Lecanicillium muscarium, have been considered as potential biological control against aphids. While it can be difficult to achieve a high control level of Aphis fabae Scopoli (Hemiptera: Aphididae) using only a single beneficial agent, the research presented here aimed to determine the interaction between L. muscarium and A. bipunctata potential for control against A. fabae. Lecanicillium muscarium was found to cause about 30% mortality in A. bipunctata and with a reduction in feeding by about 15%. However, coapplication of A. bipunctata and L. muscarium can cause an addititive effect in reducing aphid populations, resulting in about 90% reduction in aphid populations compared with control treatment. Thus, these two biocontrol agents have the potential to be complementary. This research study demonstrates that it is possible to combine A. bipunctata with L. muscarium to provide a sustainable method for management of A. fabae on broad bean cropping system an that field studies are required.

The green peach aphid,Myzus persicae, is a major insect pest worldwide. The parasitoid Aphidius colemaniand more recently, the entomopathogenic fungusLecanicillium muscarium strain KV01 (Mycotal®), have been considered as potential biological control againstM. persicae. However, no studies have been carried out on the interaction between L. muscariumandA. colemaniagainstM. persicae. This study, therefore, was conducted to determine the most effective timing of application of this fungal strain in combination with either naturally occurring or introduced parasitoids to controlMyzus persicaein the laboratory and controlledfield environments. In the laboratory, mummification, emergence of parasitoid adults from mummified aphids and female sex ratio of the emerging adults, were not affected when the fungus was applied 6 or 7 days after the parasitoids were added, compared with treatment withA. colemanionly. Although a 40% reduction in the female sex ratio of emerging parasitoid adults was recorded when fungi applied 3 days after the parasitoids were added, fungal application had no significant effect on longevity and fecundity of the femaleA. colemaniF1 generation that emerged from fungus-treated aphids. In the semi-field experiment, the mean number of aphids per leaf was significantly lower in the treatment involvingA. colemaniin combination with L. muscariumthan those withA. colemanialone. However, aphid reduction in the treatments involving naturally occurring parasitoids alone and those in combination withL. muscariumwas not significantly different. This study suggests that it is possible to combineL. muscariumwithA. colemanito increase the level of aphid control. A more detailed knowledge of the effects of naturally occurring parasitoids on pest control and their interaction with other biological control agents will help to develop environmentally sound crop management strategies with reduced insecticide applications.

نظمت كلية الزراعة في جامعة الكوفة حلقة نقاش عن التداخل بين الفطريات الممرضة للحشرات والمتطفلات الحشرية في مكافحة حشرة من الخوخ الأخضر القاها لدكتور أكرم علي محمد، قدم خلالها شرحا مفصلا عن آليات وطرق استخدام الفطريات الممرضة للحشرات والمتطفلات الحشرية بشكل متداخل وفي ظروف تجريبية مختبريه وحقلية لغرض زيادة فعاليتهما في مكافحة حشرة من الخوخ الأخضر والتي تعتبر واحدة من أهم الآفات الحشرية نظرا لكثرة العوائل النباتية التي تصيبها وكذلك قدرتها العالية على نقل الإمراض الفايروسية.

تم إلقاء محاضرة من قبل الدكتور أكرم علي محمد Akram Abodarb من كلية الزراعة جامعة الكوفة في المركز الارشادي لمحافظة النجف الاشرف يوم 18/ 4/ 2017 و ويعتبر هذه الحشرة من أخطر الأعداء التي تصيب النخيل ومما تجدر الإشارة إليه أن محافظة النجف خالية من أي إصابة بهذه الحشرة حاليا