The aim of the present study was to evaluate the interactions between Chrysoperla externa (Hagen, 1861) and the eggs and first-instar larvae of Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner 1805) infected by entomopathogenic fungi. The H. armigera eggs and larvae were treated with sterile distilled water + 0.01% Tween 80 (T1, control), Beauveria bassiana (Bals.) Vuill (T2), Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok (T3), or Metarhizium rileyi (Farlow) Samson. (T4) at different concentrations (1 × 10⁷, 1 × 10⁸, and 1 × 10⁹ con. mL⁻¹). For each treatment, a single third-instar C. externa was offered prey (a combination of 80 eggs and 50 first-instar H. armigera larvae) at 0, 24, and 48 h after inoculation. Ten trials were completed for each treatment, and the entire experiment was repeated three times. Neither the concentrations of fungi nor the application method affected consumption by C. externa. Because all the predator larvae reached the pupal phase, with 100% viability in adults, these results suggest that entomopathogenic fungi and C. externa are compatible and that the simultaneous use of these biological control agents is possible for managing H. armigera.

Assessing different levels of red gum lerp psyllid (Glycaspis brimblecombei) can influence the hyperspectral reflectance of leaves in different ways due to changes in chlorophyll. In order to classify these levels, the use of machine learning (ML) algorithms can help process the data faster and more accurately. The objectives were: (I) to evaluate the spectral behavior of the G. brimblecombei attack levels; (II) find the most accurate ML algorithm for classifying pest attack levels; (III) find the input configuration that improves performance of the algorithms. Data were collected from a clonal eucalyptus plantation (clone AEC 0144—Eucalyptus urophilla) aged 10.3 months old. Eighty sample evaluations were carried out considering the following severity levels: control (no shells), low infestation (N1), intermediate infestation (N2), and high infestation (N3), for which leaf spectral reflectances were obtained using a spectroradiometer. The spectral range acquired by the equipment was 350 to 2500 nm. After obtaining the wavelengths, they were grouped into representative interval means in 28 bands. Data were submitted to the following ML algorithms: artificial neural networks (ANN), REPTree (DT) and J48 decision trees, random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), and conventional logistic regression (LR) analysis. Two input configurations were tested: using only the wavelengths (ALL) and using the spectral bands (SB) to classify the attack levels. The output variable was the severity of G. brimblecombei attack. There were differences in the hyperspectral behavior of the leaves for the different attack levels. The highest attack level shows the greatest distinction and the highest reflectance values. LR and SVM show better accuracy in classifying the severity levels of G. brimblecombei attack. For the correct classification percentage, the RL and SVM algorithms performed better, both with accuracy above 90%. Both algorithms achieved F-score values close to 0.90 and above 0.8 for Kappa. The entire spectral range guaranteed the best accuracy for both algorithms.

We aimed to evaluate the selectivity of entomopathogenic fungi to larvae of Chrysoperla externa (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae). For this purpose, Beauveria bassiana (strain ESALQ PL63), Metarhizium anisopliae (strain ESALQ E9) and Metarhizium rileyi (strain UFMS 03) were assessed at different concentrations (1 × 10⁷, 1 × 10⁸ and 1 × 10⁹ conidia mL⁻¹). The control treatment consisted of distilled water and Tween80 0.01. The treatments were applied with a Potter spray tower using two different methodologies: direct application (DA) and dry film (DF). Up to 96 h after application, no treatment provided a larval mortality above 3%. After 120 h, only B. bassiana induced significant mortality in all instars, with rates of 26%, 17% and 10% for first, second and third instar larval periods, respectively. There was no difference regarding to the application method or concentration of conidia. The percentage of individuals that revealed changes in the length of the larval and pupal periods varied among different treatments with entomopathogenic fungi and control treatments, application methodologies and concentrations. Despite B. bassiana revealing a higher mortality than M. anisopliae and M. rileyi on larvae of C. externa, these three entomopathogenic fungi may be used in association with C. externa for sustainable pest management.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium rileyi in the control of Helicoverpa armigera caterpillars in laboratory conditions. Caterpillars between the 2nd and 3rd instar were used, ranging in size from 0.7 to 1.2 cm length. The experimental design used was completely randomized, composed of five treatments and five replications, each one consisting of 50 insects. The treatments T1 - Control (sterile distilled water), T2 - M. rileyi UFMS 02 strain, T3 - M. rileyi UFMS 03 strain, T4 - M. rileyi UFMS 06 strain, and T5 - M. rileyi UFMS 07 strain were evaluated. All treatments were applied (2 mL/insect) in suspensions of the order of 1.0 × 109 conidia mL-1, and Tween 80® was added in all treatments. Evaluations were performed daily to verify mortality and sublethal effects. For emerging adults, Filial Generation (FG), the biological cycle was evaluated. The data referring to larval mortality for the Parental Generation (PG) and GF and pupal for GF were submitted to analysis of variance, and the Scott-Knott test grouped the averages at 5% probability. The strains tested did not provide pathogenicity in the larval phase of H. armigera for PG and FG. However, there was a reduction in oviposition in all treatments regarding the control. There was an effect on the reproductive phase of GF caterpillars exposed to M. rileyi.

Os fungos encontrados na rizosfera e no solo como Trichoderma harzianum e Purpureocillium lilacinum são importantes antagonistas contra doenças radiculares e nematoides fitopatogênicos. O objetivo do trabalho foi testar a compatibilidade dos fungos T. harzianum (Ecotrich®) e P. lilacinum (Nenat®)aos produtos fitossanitários químicos usualmente utilizados no tratamento de sementes de soja. Foram testados os produtos químicos Avicta® (nematicida e inseticida), Cruiser® (inseticida), Maxim XL® (fungicida), ambos em suas doses recomendadas. O meio de cultura adicionado aos produtos fitossanitários químicos foi vertido em placas de Petri (9 cm de diâmetro). Os fungos foram inoculados com auxílio de uma alça de platina em três pontos equidistantes, totalizando 9 colônias de cada fungo. As placas foram vedadas com filme plástico (pvc) e mantidas em B.O.D. a 25±1 °C de temperatura, 70±10% de umidade relativa e 12 horas de fotofase, durante 10 dias. Para o tratamento testemunha foi vertido nas placas de Petri o meio de cultura BDA sem a adição de produtos químicos. Os testes de compatibilidade foram realizados in vitro, avaliando-se a esporulação e a germinação dos conídios em relação à testemunha. Os produtos químicos Avicta®, Cruiser® e Maxim XL®, permitiram o crescimento de colônias dos fungos T. harzianum e P. lilacinum. Os produtos Avicta®, Cruiser® e Maxim XL® foram classificados através do índice biológico como compatíveis ao fungo T. harzianum. Com relação ao fungo P. lilacinum, os produtos Cruiser® e Maxim XL® foram classificados como compatíveis, porém o produto químico Avicta® foi classificado como moderadamente toxico, sendo que este produto químico pode ter algum efeito sobre o fungo P. lilacinum.

This research, under laboratory condition, evaluated the efficiency of different strains of entomopatogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana to control leaf-cutting ant Atta sexdens rubropilosa. Soldiers and workers were inoculated with suspensions containing 1.0x107, 1.0x108, 1.0x109 and 1.0x1010 con mL-1 and maintained in B.O.D, at 25±1°C, 70% RH and 12 hours of photophase, without food. The mortality was evaluated daily, with 15 days after inoculation. Experimental design was entirely random. The sporulation data were submitted to the analysis of variance and the LT50 values (in days) were obtained through the Probit analysis. All strains of B. bassiana were pathogenic, being workers more susceptible than soldiers. The strains IBCB 21 and IBCB 07 caused high percentages of confirmed mortality showing potential for use in the control of A. sexdens rubropilosa. Strain IBCB 21 was more virulent for workers, whereas isolated IBCB 07 was more virulent for soldiers. Both isolates presented no significant difference among tested concentrations.