D3435: Efficacy of three commercial mycoinsecticides in foliar applied field trials against Asian citrus psyllid in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, USA

Total acreage dedicated to organic farmland has increased over the last few years due to the growing consciousness of the health and environmental benefits associated with these practices. Many federal guidelines and regulations need to be met for grove to be certified as organic. This leaves few options for pest management, which include the use of natural substances such as entomopathogenic fungi (EPF). EPF are biological control agents used as mycoinsecticides with a degree of host specificity towards pest insects. In this study, three commercial mycoinsecticides (Bioceres® WP, PFR-97® WDG, and Isarid WP) are evaluated to determine their efficacy against the Asian citrus psyllid (ACP), Diaphorina citri, vector of Candidatus Liberibacter spp., the pathogen that causes citrus greening disease. Trials consists of testing each product’s high label rate as well as a control group by spraying three randomly selected young branches of sweet orange ‘Valencia’ tree per treatment, and spore counts are performed on treated leaves to confirm proper spore deposition rates. Branches are then sleeved, and infested with 50 ACP adults, and collected four days post-application for evaluation of mortality, and cadaver mycosis. Current outcomes reflect a four-fold increase in mortality for Bioceres® WP over competing formulations PFR-97® WDG, and Isarid WP at four days post application, as well as a 9-fold increase in cadaver mycosis. Final trials are currently being conducted to confirm the most efficacious commercially available mycoinsecticide for management of ACP in citrus and integration into organic IPM strategies.