Université de Fribourg

Preventive application of an entomopathogenic fungus in cover crops for wireworm control

Rogge, Sina Alexandra ; Mayerhofer, Johanna ; Enkerli, Jürg ; Bacher, Sven ; Grabenweger, Giselher

In: BioControl, 2017, vol. 62, no. 5, p. 613–623

Efficacy of the Metarhizium brunneum Petch (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) strain ART2825 for control of wireworms (Agriotes obscurus (L.), Coleoptera: Elateridae) was examined in a semi-field pot experiment. Pots were treated in late summer during sowing of spring oat as a cover crop. Survival of wireworms was assessed four weeks after their release in October 2013, and 30 weeks after release in...

Université de Fribourg

A simple in vitro method to study interactions between soil insects, entomopathogenic fungi, and plant extracts

Eckard, Sonja ; Bacher, Sven ; Enkerli, Jürg ; Grabenweger, Giselher

In: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2017, vol. 163, no. 3, p. 315–327

A combined application of a biological control agent, such as an entomopathogenic fungus (EPF), with other means of pest control may lead to enhanced or more reliable efficacy of the biocontrol agent. Ideally, the combined components would interact synergistically, yielding significantly higher mortality of the target pest. The mode of such interactions is often unclear and particularly...

Université de Fribourg

Virulence of in vivo and in vitro produced conidia of Metarhizium brunneum strains for control of wireworms

Eckard, Sonja ; Ansari, Minshad A. ; Bacher, Sven ; Butt, Tariq M. ; Enkerli, Jürg ; Grabenweger, Giselher

In: Crop Protection, 2014, vol. 64, p. 137–142

Wireworms are the soil inhabiting larvae of click beetles and can cause severe damage to arable crops such as potatoes (Solanum tuberosum, L.). Several strains of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium brunneum (Petch) are pathogenic to wireworms. In this study, three European strains of M. brunneum were tested in the laboratory against the most damaging wireworm species in Europe, Agriotes...