Effectiveness of Metarhizium anisopliae against immature stages of Anastrepha fraterculus fruitfly (Diptera : Tephritidae)

The study evaluated the effectiveness of Metarhizium anisopliae var. anisopliae (Hyphomycetes : Moniliales) strain E9, isolated from the pasture spittlebug Deois flavopicta (Hemiptera : Cercopidae), against larvae, prepupae and pupae stage and emergent adults of Anastrepha fraterculus, the South American fruitfly. The bioassay was carried out simulating field conditions, on autoclaved (AS) and non-autoclaved (NAS) soil from typical citrus orchards in the State of São Paulo, Southeastern region of Brazil. Various concentrations of conidia were incorporated into the soil the mortality, calculated based on the percentage of adult emergence, was 86% for the highest conidia concentrations: 2.52 x 10(10) for AS and 2.52 x 10(10) for NAS. The lethal concentration (LC50), expressed as conidia concentration, was 8.44 x 10(9) conidia/g of soil (S) for AS and 12.23 x 10(9) conidia/g of soil for NAS.