Studies on biological control of the white spotted longicorn beetle, Anoplophora malasiaca, by an entomogenous fungus, Beauveria brongniartii. IV. Field evaluation of hanging polyurethane foam sheet containing B. brongniartii conidia, on citrus trees for the control of adult beetle

Abstract

In a field application test, banding of polyurethane foam sheets (30×500 mm) containing B. brongniartii (conidia 10 ⁸/cm ²), around the lower part of the trunk of citrus trees, resulted in 57-100% mortalities of adult beetles of A. malasiaca, at the dosage of 1 sheet per tree. High mortalities, 84-100%, were also obtained at the same dosage when sheets were hung at the branching part of the citrus trunk. The application of the sheets at the rate of 1 sheet per 2 trees and 1 sheet per 4 trees, resulted in 55-73% and 46% mortality respectively. The time required for the application of the sheets in citrus orchards, were 40-60 minutes/10a by the hanging method, while the banding method required 90-120 minutes/10a. These results showed that hanging polyurethane foam sheets was an effective and practical method for application of B. brongniartii.