ENTOMOPATHOGENIC FUNGI (Cordyceps spp.) ISOLATE FROM AMERGING INSECT PESTS ASSOCIATED WITH PLANTATION FORESTS IN VIET NAM

Abstract

Plantation forests accounted for 4.4 million hectares out of 14.7 million hectares of total forest area in Vietnam and contribute greatly to the export of timber and wood products as well as the livelihoods of the mountainous people. Several species of insect pests have been observed in Dendrocalamus barbatus, Chukrasia tabularis, Acacia and Eucalyptus plantations. However, these pests were found to be parasitized by entomopathogenic fungi. The aims of this study were to examine the pathogenicity and identify the taxonomy of entomopathogens obtained from Ceracris kiangsu, Episparis tortuosalis, Batocera lineolata and Endoclita sp. Results showed that seven isolates of the entomopathogenic fungi were found from these four pests. In addition, all identified isolates expressed pathogenicity in Galleria mellonella larvae with the parasitism range was from 73 to 100%. Based on ITS, LSU and TEF1-α sequence analysis, the identified entomopathogenic fungi belong to the genus Cordyceps. This finding suggests a great potential for application of these Cordyceps isolates in insect pest management programs in Vietnam.