Compatibility of commercially available biopesticidal formulations with Temperature Tolerant strain of Trichogramma chilonis (TTT) in pre- and post-release situations in laboratory

Abstract

Laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of some commercially available biopesticidal formulations, such as Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (2g/l), Bacillus sphaericus(2g/l), Beauveria bassiana (5g/l), Metarhizium anisopliae (5g/l), Lecanicillium lecanii (5g/l) on the Temperature Tolerant strain of Trichogramma chilonis (TTT). Two sets of experiments were conducted, in the first experiment, all the test biopesticides were sprayed on the egg cards prepared from Corcyra cephalonica eggs (pre-release situation) and percent parasitisation and adult emergence were recorded; in the second one, test bio pesticides were sprayed on the parasitized cards (post release situation) and adult emergence was recorded. The results revealed that percent parasitisation and adult emergence from treated cards in both the experiments are on par with the untreated control, hence they are considered safe and can be used along with TTT.