title: Screening of tropical isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae for virulence to the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).
abstract: The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Olivier (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a serious pest of the palm tree in tropical regions of the world. One strain of Metarhizium sp. ZJ-1, isolated from Chinese soils, was evaluated for growth characteristics, and screened for its virulence to R. ferrugineus larvae in laboratory conditions. An approximately 685-bp fragment was amplified by ITS (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) PCR from strain ZJ-1, further phylogenetic analysis revealed that 93 % similarity to Metarhizium anisopliae. Inoculation of 1 × 10(8) conidia/mL caused 100 % mortality of R. ferrugineus, LT50 levels of ZJ-1 were 1.66 days (1 × 10(8) conidia/mL), indicating that the conidia of strain ZJ-1 were highly virulent. These results suggest that M. anisopliae ZJ-1 has potential as an effective and persistent biological control agent for R. ferrugineus.
authors.affiliation: Hainan Key Laboratory of Tropical Oil Crops Biology/Coconuts Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang, 571339 Hainan People's Republic of China.|College of Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Hainan Key Laboratory of Tropical Oil Crops Biology/Coconuts Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang, 571339 Hainan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Hainan Key Laboratory of Tropical Oil Crops Biology/Coconuts Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang, 571339 Hainan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Weiquan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Hainan Key Laboratory of Tropical Oil Crops Biology/Coconuts Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang, 571339 Hainan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Hainan Key Laboratory of Tropical Oil Crops Biology/Coconuts Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Wenchang, 571339 Hainan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiaoqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Environment and Plant Protection Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, 571101 Hainan People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Guangchang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: College of Science, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030 Heilongjiang People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Fuheng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
keywords: Bioassay; ITS; Metarhizium anisopliae; Mortality; Red palm weevil