ISHS Acta Horticulturae 494: II International Symposium on Chestnut
BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF CHESTNUT WEEVIL (CURCULIO ELEPHAS GYLL.; COLEOPTERA, CURCULIONIDAE) WITH THE ENTOMOPATHOGEN FUNGUS BEAUVERIA BASSIANA (BALSAMO) VUILL. (DEUTEROMYCOTINA, HYPHOMYCETES)SP1¶ |
| Authors: | B. Paparatti, S. Speranza |
| Keywords: | Curculio elephas, Beauveria bassiana, chestnut, biological control |
| Abstract:
This paper reports on results obtained in biological control of the chestnut weevil (Curculio elephas Gyll.) by means of the entomopathogen fungus Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuill. Experiments were carried out in a chestnut tree orchard of the Mountain Community of Monti Cimini (Viterbo, Italy). Cages measuring 60 cm in height, half-buried in the ground, were utilized. 100 larvae of chestnut weevils were placed in each cage, where they buried themselves spontaneously. A total of three trials was performed, in 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1997–98. A commercial strain of B. bassiana (Naturalis-L, Fermone Corporation, Phoenix, AZ) was utilized for the first two trials; while a strain provided by C.E.R. (Caffaro, Galliera, Bologna, Italy) was utilized for the third trial. Untreated control cages and cages treated with the entomopathogen fungus were used during the tests. The results, even though promising, presented high variability, probably due to the rainfall recorded during the test periods. Good results were obtained for the first and the second period (1993–94, 1994–95), while for the third period (1997–98) no significant differences between treated and untreated cages were observed. | |
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