Evaluation of Beauveria bassiana (986) as a biological control of Alphitobius diaperinus in poultry bed of wood shavings
Luiz Gazoni, FábioFlores, FernandaSilveira, FlávioSteffen, RenataReginatto, AndressaSoares, CláudiaLovato, Maristela
Background: Alphitobius diaperinus, lesser mealworm, represents one of the most important pests in the poultry farming industry worldwide. This insect serves as a mechanical host of pathogenic micro-organisms to birds and causes injuries in their digestive tract affecting the feed conversion. Both larvae and adult insects grow in the avian bed, over the soil of sheds and especially near the feeders, where there is a greater availability of food and water. Alphitobius diaperinus control, around the world and especially in Brazil, is based exclusively on chemical agents which generates resistant populations. The biological control by entomopathogenic fungi has been shown to be feasible and satisfactory when tested in vitro testing in the recent years. However it still lacks tests to evaluate these agents in environments that simulate field conditions. So, the aim of this experiment was to evaluate a Beauveria bassiana (986) as a way of biological control of A. diaperinus in poultry bed of wood shavings.Material, Methods & Results: Alphitobius diaperinus were collected from a poultry shed located in Garibaldi in Rio Grande do Sul and sent to the Laboratório Central de Diagnósticos em Patologias Aviárias (LCDPA), Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (UFSM). Then they were cultivated in plastic boxes on the poultry bed and fed as the recommended protocol. The Beauveria bassiana (
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