Natures arsenal: Unraveling the potential of viruses and fungi for prescriptive management of row crop pests

The objective of this study was to compare the survival, mortality, and lethal dose on the different life stages of corn ear worm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), tarnished plant bug (TPB), Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois) (Hemiptera: Miridae), and the redbanded stink bug Piezodorus guildinii (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) to two different groups of pathogenic biological agents; entomopathogenic fungi and lepidopteran specific nucleopolyhedroviruses (NVP’s). These recognized key agricultural pests are highly mobile and cosmopolitan, known to feed on a number of many economically important cultivated plants including cotton, soybean, and corn in addition to >300 species of wild host plants. Nearly all life stages of these tradition row crop pests cause significant economic damage to several commercial row crops with multiple generations occurring over the growing season. Significant reductions in survival times for all insects were observed for all instars on and after day three and five post exposure to the NVPs and fungal isolate, respectively. Late instars and adults saw a marked reduction in survival seven days post exposure after exposure to the fungal isolate at the highest concentration investigated. However, individuals exposed to NVP viruses irrespective of strain experienced the earliest and highest mortality rates across the study.