Laboratory Evaluation of the Entomopathogenic Fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae Var. major against the Subterranean Termite, Odontotermes guptai Roonwal and Bose

Abstract

Infectivity of the soil mixed conidia of the fungal pathogen Metarhizium anisopliae var. major was evaluated against the termite, Odontotermes guptai Roonwal and Bose under laboratory conditions. Four concentrations, viz., 0.8x10⁷, 1.2x10⁷, 1.6x10⁷ , and 2x10<SUP7 conidia/g soil caused complete mortality of the test termite in 192, 156, 132 and 120 hours, respectively. The LC⁵⁰ value at 12^th was calculated as 9.07x10⁶ conidia/g soil. The LT₅₀ value for the most effective dose was 86.84h. However, the test termites became less active within 48 hours of incubation.