Isolation, Identification and Evaluation of the Effects of Native Entomopathogenic Fungi from Côte d'Ivoire on .

The fall armyworm, (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is a polyphagous pest highly damaging to maize and other food crops in Africa, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire. Chemical pesticides not only have often proved to be unsuccessful, but cause adverse effects on the environment and human health; therefore, entomopathogenic fungi could represent an alternative biocontrol solution. Against this background, fungi were isolated from soil samples collected in maize fields in three regions of Côte d'Ivoire, by the methods of soil dilution and baiting with . The resulting 86 fungal isolates were phenotypically and genetically identified. The pathogenicity of seven isolates of spp., three isolates of and two isolates of sp. was evaluated on fifth instar larvae (L5) of . Larval mortality rates and the median lethal time (LT) were determined seven days after inoculation for each of these selected isolates. The median lethal concentration (LC) was determined for a selection of isolates. isolate A214b was the most effective, causing 100% mortality, with an LT of 2.64 days and an LC of 1.12 × 10 conidia mL. Two other promising isolates, A211 and A214a, belonging to caused 100% mortality with LT values of 3.44 and 4.04 days, respectively. Mortality caused by isolates varied from 65.38% to 100%, with isolate T331 causing 100% mortality with an LT of 3.08 days at an LC of 3.33 × 10 conidia mL. sp. isolates were the least pathogenic ones. and isolates showed to be virulent against the model Lepidopteran and will be tested on .