Despite massive losses of primary forest, the Amazonian rainforest remains an extremely rich source of biodiversity. In recent years, entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) have been isolated from soil in various parts of the world and used successfully as biological control agents against numerous insect pests. Therefore, a sampling in the rainforest of Monte Negro, Rondônia, Brazil was conducted w...

This laboratory study examined viability and infectivity of the entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) Heterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar in solutions containing four different turfgrass soil surfactants: Revolution (Aquatrols Corp., Paulsboro, NJ), Aqueduct (Aquatrols Corp., Paulsboro, NJ), Cascade Plus (Precision Laboratories Inc., Waukegan, IL) and OARS (Aqua-Aid Inc., Rocky Mount, NC). Infective...

The effect of Steinernema riobrave and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora on population density of Mesocriconema xenoplax in peach was studied in the greenhouse. Twenty-one days after adding 112 M. xenoplax adults and juveniles/1,500 cm(3) soil to the soil surface of each pot, 50 infective juveniles/cm(2) soil surface of either S. riobrave or H. bacteriophora were applied. Another entomopathogenic n...

A spore assay was developed to measure the relative density of spores of the nematophagous fungus Hirsutella rhossiliensis in soil. Orchard soil containing H. rhossiliensis-parasitized Criconemella xenoplax was placed in vials and incubated for 0-120 days before the addition of probe nematodes, Heterorhabditis heliothidis juveniles. After 18 hours, H. heliothidis were extracted from the soil an...

Thepecanweevil,Curculio caryae (Horn), is amajor pest of pecans in the Southeastern United States. Entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi are potential alternatives to chemical insecticides for C. caryae control. Our objective was to survey pecan orchards in the southeastern United States for entomopathogenic nematodes and fungi and determine the virulence of the new isolates to C. caryae larvae....

A wide range of technology is available for application of entomopathogenic nematodes including various irrigation systems and spray equipment. The choice of application equipment, and manner in which the nematodes are applied, can have substantial impact on pest control eYcacy. For example, nozzle or pumping system types are some of the parameters that can aVect nematode performance following ...

Entomopathogenic nematodes are used for biological control of insect pests. A method for improved cryopreservation of infective juvenile stage nematodes has been developed using Steinernema carpocapsae and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. Optimum survival for both species was achieved with 12,000 infective juveniles/ml in glycerol and 7,500/ml in Ringer's solution. For S. carpocapsae, maximum sur...

The rice white tip nematode, Aphelenchoides besseyi, is the primarily important seed-borne pest of rice and was first recorded in Turkey in 1995. These biological agents, such as an entomopathogenic fungus (EPF), entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN), and bacterial supernatants, have been used against other plant parasitic nematodes but as far as not against A. besseyi. Accordingly, the EPF species,...

Xenorhabdus and Photorhabdus are members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, and are engaged in a mutualistic association with the entomopathogenic nematodes, Steinernema and Heterorhabditis, respectively. In the present study, the organic fraction of ethyl acetate bacterial crude extracts of the symbiotic bacteria, Xenorhabdus stockiae and Photorhabdus luminescens isolated from entomopathogenic ...