Contents lists available atScienceDirect
Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology
journal homepage:www.elsevier.com/locate/jape
Full length article
Formulations ofBeauveria bassianaMABb1 and mesoporous materials for the
biological control ofSphenarium purpurascensin maize crops from Puebla,
Mexico
Omar Romero-Arenas
a
, Luis Josué Amaro-Leal
a
, Antonio Rivera
b
, Conrado Parraguirre-Lezama
a
,
Primo Sánchez-Morales
a
, Nemesio Villa-Ruano
c,⁎
a
Centro de Agroecología, Instituto de Ciencias, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP), Edificio VAL 1, Km 1,7 Carretera a San Baltazar Tetela, San Pedro
Zacachimalpa, 72960 Puebla, Mexico
b
Centro de Investigaciones en Ciencias Microbiológicas, ICUAP-BUAP, Edificio 103-J, Ciudad Universitaria, 72570 Puebla, Mexico
c
CONACyT-Centro Universitario de Vinculación y Transferencia de Tecnología, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Prolongación de la 24 Sur y Av. San
Claudio, Ciudad Universitaria, Col. San Manuel, 72570 Puebla, Mexico
ARTICLE INFO
Keywords:
Beauveria bassiana
Sphenarium purpurascens
Mortality
Crop improvement
ABSTRACT
This investigation reports on the biological control ofSphenarium purpurascensby using different concentrations
of conidia from a native strain ofBeauveria bassiana(MABb1) isolated in Puebla, Mexico under laboratory andin
situconditions. Formulations containing this native strain combined with two mesoporous materials (diato-
maceous earth“D”and zeolite“Z”) were assayed in order to determine their effect on the mortality of the
grasshopper. Concentrations of 3.67×10
8
to 10.30×10
8
conidia mL
−1
caused a substantial mortality rate in
the fourth-instar nymphs and adults ofS. purpurascens. The observed mortality was directly proportional to the
concentration of conidia. Under controlled conditions, the highest specific death rate K(d
−1
) was 0.78 for the
formulation containing Z + D + MABb1 at 72 h post-infection. The formulations of D + MABb1 and
Z + D + MABb1 caused a noticeable decrease in the population of grasshoppers in the experimental plots with
statistical significant differences (α< 0.05). Interestingly, an increase in the mortality ofS purpurascensoc-
curred in July, August and September 2017 when the highest incidence of the grasshopper was recorded.
Remarkably, the treatment based on Z + D + MABb1, produced an improvement in the yields of experimental
maize plots (7847.4 ± 0.70 Kg ha
−1
) in comparison to control plots (4453.9 ± 0.50 Kg ha
−1
). These favorable
consequences are reported for thefirst time in corn crops from Mexico.
Introduction
Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae, Romaleidae) are organisms
that colonize diverse habitats including tropical and desert areas but, in
grasslands, grasshopper reach higher densities mainly because of the
geographical conditions and specific vegetation (Bustillos-Rodríguez
et al., 2015; Lightfoot, 2018). In Mexico, grasshoppers have become a
severe pest in agriculture by negatively affecting the foliage of bean,
alfalfa, squash and corn crops (Barrientos-Lozano et al., 2002; Tamayo-
Mejía, 2009; Morales-Martínez et al., 2013). Regarding this point, the
most relevant pests of maize crops in Mexico areMelanoplusspp.,
Sphenarium mexicanumandSphenarium purpurascens(Orthoptera: Pyr-
gomorphidae).S. purpurascensis the most abundant grasshopper in
Mexico and its geographical distribution comprises the central, south
and west regions of Mexico, including the provinces of Oaxaca,
Guerrero, Michoacán, Jalisco, Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo,
Morelos, Distrito Federal, Estado de México, Chiapas and Tabasco
(Cerritos and Cano-Santana, 2007).S. purpurascensis commonly known
as the maize grasshopper because of its high incidence in maize crops
(Serrano-Limón and Ramos-Elorduy, 1989).
Maize is the most important and emblematic cereal in Mexico. The
averaged consumption of maize in Mexico is around 267 g per day
which exhibits the relevance of this cereal as elemental food for this
country. Currently, an alarming increase ofS. purpurascensinvasions on
corn monocultures in Mexico has been reported (Ranum et al., 2014;
Vázquez-Jorge et al., 2016). Specifically, the valley of Puebla-Tlaxcala
has experienced the most harmful grasshopper infestation which caused
severe damage to the native corn crops affecting grain production
(García et al., 2006; Cerritos and Cano-Santana, 2007; Huerta et al.,
2014).
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aspen.2020.05.005
Received 11 July 2019; Received in revised form 13 May 2020; Accepted 15 May 2020
⁎
Corresponding author.
E-mail address:
[email protected](N. Villa-Ruano).
-RXUQDORI$VLD3DFLILF(QWRPRORJ\?
$YDLODEOHRQOLQH0D\
?.RUHDQ6RFLHW\RI$SSOLHG(QWRPRORJ\3XEOLVKHGE\(OVHYLHU%9$OOULJKWVUHVHUYHG
7