Joint Actions Between Entomopathogenic Nematodes and Abamectin for Controlling the Termites, Psammotermes hypostoma (Desn.), and Anacanthotermes ochraceus (Burm.)

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Plant Prot. Dept., Fac. Agric., Zagazig University, Egypt

2 Plant Protection Res. Inst., ARC, Dokki, Giza, Egypt

Abstract

The two subterranean termites, Psammotermes hypostoma (Desn.), and Anacanthotermes ochraceus (Burm.) are widely distributed and cause serious damage to wooden structures in Egypt. The objective of the present study is an attempt to control these pests using entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) alone or combined with abamectin, which is applied at recommended and half recommended doses under laboratory conditions. The tested EPNs were Steinernema carpocapsae (All strain), S. feltiae (Filipjev strain), S. glaseri (NC strain), Heterorhabditis bacteriophora (HP88 strain) as well as the two local isolates of H. bacteriophora namely Ar-4 strain and Ht strain. The results showed that S. feltiae was the highest virulence species followed by H. bacteriophora and S. glaseri, while S. carpocapsae was the least infectious one. The Egyptian H. bacteriophora isolates showed a relatively lower effect compared to imported species. On the other hand, P.hypostoma  was more susceptible to the tested EPN species compared to A. ochraceus. Application of EPNs with a half-recommended dose of abamectin gave the highest nematicidal effectiveness against the two termite species. For instance, a combination of half-recommended doses of abamectin with H. bacteriophora (HP88 strain) achieved percentages mortality reached 89.4 and 87.5% with P.hypostoma  and A.ochraceus, respectively. On the other hand, the highest percentage of mortalities was 85.20 and 82.62% in local isolates with H. bacteriophora (Ar-4 strain) with the tested termites. Generally, our results emphasize the importance of applying a half-recommended dose of abamectin with EPNs to overwhelm incompatibility, particularly with heterorhabditid species. 

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