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Archives (2001)
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Beauveria mold bioinsecticide: safer control against
orchid pests
by Junelyn S. de la Rosa
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October-December
2001
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Since the early eighties, the orchid industry
has been a lucrative and competitive business. Today, there
is a big market for orchids. But the big market for orchids
is also a stringent market. Orchid buyers all over the world
want healthy and disease-free orchids. To make sure that their
orchids are safe from various pests, orchid growers are using
more and more commercial insecticides that are expensive.
Some growers even spray insecticides weekly at the first sign
of a pest. Lately, however, heavy pesticide usage has been
constantly attacked on all sides. Environment and health experts
have been active in advocating minimal use of pesticides.
This resulted to an increasing demand for environment-friendly
and people-friendly technologies that can effectively control
the pests attacking orchids.
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| Soybean loopers killed by fungus Beauveria bassiana. |
Meeting the challenge for safer technologies,
Dr. Dante Santiago of the National Crop Protection Center,
University of the Philippines at Los Baños (UPLB) developed
a bioinsecticide using the spores of a mold- Beauveria bassiana
(Bals.) to control two common orchid pests-the yellow orchid
beetle or orchid lema (Lema pectoralis) and vanda thrips
(Dichromothrips corbetti Priesner). This project is
one of the ongoing high impact projects of the National RDE
Ornamental Network funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research
(BAR).
The bioinsectide is prepared by mixing Beauveria
spores in a weak (0.01%) detergent solution. The solution
was applied on the yellow orchid beetles and sprayed on Vanda
flowers that are attacked by thrips. The researchers found
that the Beauveria mold is very effective in controlling the
beetles and the thrips. All grubs and adult beetles that were
treated with the solution containing 10,000 mold spores died.
Most of the Vanda thrips (94%) sprayed with the solution were
also killed. The bodies of the dead insects were covered with
the molds.
Male beetles that were contaminated with the
spores infected the healthy female beetles with mortalities
ranging from 87% to 93%. Most female beetles contracted the
molds at least two days after the male beetles got infected.
Each contaminated male beetle was able to transmit the infection
to five female beetles at a time. Most of the infected female
beetles died (96% to 100%). These findings imply that even
a few contaminated male beetles can spread the infection to
other beetles in the field.
The study also found that the male beetles are
attracted to derivatives of cinnamyl alcohol. These attractants
were as effective as the females beetles in luring the males.
The researchers are positive that these attractants can be
used in making baits that will contain Beauveria spores. At
present, the researchers are developing and mass producing
the new bioinsecticide. They believe that it is high time
that orchid growers switch from using harmful chemicals to
a much better and safer option- the Beauveria bioinsecticide.
(For more information, please contact: Dr.
Dante Santiago of the National Crop Protection Center of the
University of the Philippines at Los Baños at tel no:
049-536-2409.) More Articles:
Vol. 3 No. 4 October-December 2001
»»
Outstanding technologies identified in nat'l R&D week
»» Thailand,
Philippines convene for agri cooperation
»»
Prospects for the ornamental industry in the new millennium
»» UPLB
scientists develop new hybrids of Philippine ornamentals
»» New management
techniques for exportable foliage plants
»» In
focus: a date with the "king of cut flowers"
»» Brighten
your homes with aglaonema
»» King
in red and green
»» Cashing
in with the 'lucky bamboo'
»» Turfgrasses:
the preferred ground cover
»» Catching
the invisible enemy with ELISA
»» Grow
dracaena godseffiana the easy way
»» Bromeliads:
the exotic plant
»» Wag that
fish-tail fern
»» Mass
propagating the 'doņas' through kulob system
»» Beauveria
mold bioinsecticide: safer control against orchid pests
»» Orchids
and mycorrhiza: a lesson from the wild
»» Controlling
white rust in chrysanthemums
»» Ways to
enhance palm seed germination
»» Prolonging
the vase life of cut flowers with ethylene adsorbent and Florafresh
»»
Mass producing the fragrant kamuning
»» The
national RDE program for ornamental crops
»» GMA
presents 2001 Gawad Saka awards
[More
2001 Articles]
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