ICAR-Central Potato Research Station, Udhagamandalam, Nilgiris, 643004, Tamil Nadu, India.
ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources, Bengaluru, 560024, Karnataka, India.
J Helminthol. 2020 Sep 10;94:e188. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X20000723.
The potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller), is a serious pest of potato and other commercial crops belonging to the Solanaceae family. In recent years, it has become an emerging problem in potato-growing regions of the Nilgiri hills of southern India. It is responsible for the reduced quality and quantity of marketable potatoes. In this regard, the development of an eco-friendly control method for the management of the potato tuber moth is urgently required. Therefore, in the present study, the virulence of Steinernema cholashanense CPRSUS01 originally isolated from the potato rhizosphere was tested on fourth-instar larvae and pupae of P. operculella. Steinernema cholashanense caused the greatest mortality in the fourth-instar larval stage (100%) than the pupae (30%). In addition to this, penetration and reproduction of this nematode was also studied in fourth-instar larvae of P. operculella and this is the first report of penetration and reproduction of any entomopathogenic nematode species on potato tuber moth larvae. The reproduction capacity of S. cholashanense on P. operculella is higher (702 infective juveniles mg-1 body weight). Our results indicated that S. cholashanense has good potential as an alternative tool for the management of P. operculella. But before including S. cholashanense in the integrated pest management program of P. operculella, its efficacy should be tested under field conditions.
块茎蛾，Phthorimaea operculella（泽勒），是一种严重危害马铃薯和其他茄科商业作物的害虫。近年来，它已成为印度南部尼勒尔丘陵地区马铃薯种植区的一个新问题。它导致可销售马铃薯的质量和数量下降。在这方面，迫切需要开发一种环保的控制方法来管理马铃薯块茎蛾。因此，在本研究中，对最初从马铃薯根际分离出的斯氏线虫 Steinernema cholashanense CPRSUS01 对 P. operculella 的四龄幼虫和蛹进行了毒力测试。与蛹（30%）相比，斯氏线虫 Steinernema cholashanense 对四龄幼虫期的致死率最高（100%）。除此之外，还研究了这种线虫在 P. operculella 四龄幼虫中的穿透和繁殖情况，这是首次报道任何昆虫病原线虫在马铃薯块茎蛾幼虫上的穿透和繁殖情况。S. cholashanense 在 P. operculella 上的繁殖能力更高（702 条感染性幼虫 mg-1 体重）。我们的研究结果表明，S. cholashanense 作为 P. operculella 管理的替代工具具有良好的潜力。但是，在将 S. cholashanense 纳入 P. operculella 的综合虫害管理计划之前，应该在田间条件下测试其功效。
