Preliminary evaluation of the virulence of three native isolates of Entomopathogenic nematodes against the great wax moth larvae Galleria mellonella. under laboratory conditions

Samar H. Othman(1), Nadine N. Ali( 1) and Nada A. Allouf( 1)

(1). Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, Tishreen University, Latakia, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: Samar H Othman. samar.93.sam@gmail.com).

Received:7/03/2024                    Accepted: 2/06/2024

Abstract: 

This study aimed to evaluate the virulence of three native isolates of nematodes Heterorhabditis  (H1, H2, and H6), against the last instar of Galleria mellonella larvae, using the dose-response test, under laboratory conditions. The experiment was conducted in the laboratory in 2023. The three isolates were compared at four concentrations (5, 10, 15, and 20 infective juveniles IJs/1 insect larvae) at 30±2 C°. The results showed that H2 and H6 caused mortality during the first 24 hours after treatment. Mortality rates reached 80% and 50% using 20 and 10 Ijs, respectively. On the second day, significant differences were noticed between the three isolates and the control. Mortality rate achieved 80%, 90%, 100% for H1, H6 and H2, respectively. No significant differences were observed between the three isolates in terms of their killing ability except on the first day where H2 was the highest. LD50 after 48 h was 10.13, 10.44, 9 Ijs for H1, H2, and H6, respectively.

Keywords: Entomopathogenic Nematode, efficiency, Heterorhabditis, Galleria mellonella, Dose response.

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