Effect of Using The Entomopathogenic/Endophytic Fungus, Beauvaria bassiana on Quality of Sweet Potato Crop and Associated Insects Under Sohag Governorate Conditions

Abstract

This work was conducted during two successive seasons (2018 and 2019) at the experimental research station, Shandweel, Sohag, Egypt to study the effectiveness addition methods of the fungus, Beauvariabassiana on growth, yield quality and some of the chemical constituents, moreover, associated insects and their damages to vegetative and storage roots growth were calculated of sweet potato plants growing under Sohag governorate conditions. The obtained results indicated that the different addition treatments of B. bassiana wereshowed an increase in growth traits when the plants were sprying twice by B . bassiana given the highest values of plant length, fresh weight compared with other treatments studied in both seasons. The gained results of yield and its contents included that addition of B.bassiana in soil twice gave the best values of total yield, marketable yield, theaverage weight of storage roots as well as highest dry matter percentage of storage roots compared with other treatments, at the same time the control treatment showed the lowest of values of all studied traits in both seasons. Soil application of B . bassiana twice was affected significantly on chemical constituents of sweet potato storage roots (nitrogen%, phosphorus%, potassium%, Protein% and starch%) except potassium% and starch in the first season. Twice foliar application of fungus was the most effective application on leave defoliators and recorded the lowest number of whiteflies.