Data from: Compatibility of the fungus Beauveria bassiana and Trichoplusia ni SNPV against the cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni : crop plant matters
Cite this dataset
Deschodt, Pauline; Cory, Jenny (2024). Data from: Compatibility of the fungus Beauveria bassiana and Trichoplusia ni SNPV against the cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni : crop plant matters [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.p8cz8w9xv
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Microbial insecticides are an important weapon in insect pest management, but their use is still relatively limited. One approach for increasing their efficacy and use could be to combine different pathogens to increase pest mortality. However, little is known about whether increasing pathogen diversity will improve pest management. Here, we investigated the compatibility of two pathogens for the management of the cabbage looper, Trichoplusia ni; T. ni nucleopolyhedrovirus (TniSNPV) and the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana on two crops, tomato and broccoli. The pathogens were applied to individual plants using ultra low volume sprays, alone or in combination, either synchronously or asynchronously. Healthy 3rd instar T. ni larvae were introduced to the plants before application and collected by destructive sampling 24h after the last pathogen application.
RESULTS: Combined applications did not result in an increase in larval mortality compared to TniSNPV alone, although mortality was generally high. Beauveria bassiana was considerably less effective on broccoli compared to tomato. In both the combined treatments, virus-induced mortality was approximately 50% lower when applied together with the fungus, while fungus-induced mortality was not affected by the virus, even when the virus was introduced 24h before the fungus.
CONCLUSION: While our results suggest that applying this combination of entomopathogens would not be beneficial for pest management, this study illustrates the need to consider the target crop as an important driver of the efficacy of both single and mixed pathogen applications in the field.
README: Compatibility of the fungus Beauveria bassiana and Trichoplusia ni SNPV against the cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni : crop plant matters
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.p8cz8w9xv
Authors: Pauline S. Deschodt and Jenny S. Cory
Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC, V5A 1S6,
Canada
Corresponding author: Pauline Deschodt, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University,
8888 University Dr, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada. pdeschod@sfu.ca
Keywords: Beauveria bassiana, crop plant, mixed infection, microbial pest control, nucleopolyhedrovirus, Trichoplusia ni
Overview:
- date: September and October 2019
- location: Simon Fraser University
- larvae were reared from neonate in individual 1oz SOLO cups, fed artificial whet-germ based diet and kept at 25C, 16:8 L:D cycle, until 3rd instar
- 20 newly 3rd instar larvae were randomly selected and transferred to one of the two host plant (broccoli and tomato) in a greenhouse
- after pathogen application, larvae were collected, reason individually in 1oz cups, fed artificial whet-germ based diet and kept at 25C, 16:8 L:D cycle
Description of the data and file structure
The first 9 columns describe the different treatments
- Pathogen_treatment: spray application treatment (control, virus single, virus single 1/2, fungus single, fungus single 1/2, mixed synchronous, mixed synchronous 1/2, mixed delayed, mixed delayed 1/2)
- Application_rate_virus_OBs.m-2: application rate chosen for the treatment that included virus application (4*10^7 and 8*10^7 OB.m-2)
- Application_rate_fungus_conidia.m-2: application rate chosen for the treatment that included virus application (2*10^8 and 4*10^8 conidia.-2)
- Date_spray_1: Date of the first pathogen application (n/a for the control treatment)
- Date_spray_2: Date of the second pathogen application (n/a for control and single application treatments)
- Sampling_date: Date when the larvae were destructively sampled and collected from the host plants
- Host_plant: broccoli or tomato
- Plant_number: Individual plant number in each of the treatment (up to 5)
Data collected:
- Death_date: date at the time of death (n/a for larvae that pupated)
- Survival_y0_n1: noted "0" if the larvae survived infection (pupated) or noted "1" if the larva died
- Cause_of_death: identified cause of death for each larvae (n/a for larvae that pupated)
- sporulation: "y" for yes the cadaver showed signs of sporulation (white spots on the cadaver cuticle)
Abbreviation:
- OB: occlusion body
Sharing/Access information
n/a
Code/Software
n/a
Methods
Data overview:
- date: September and October 2019
- location: Simon Fraser University
- larvae were reared from neonate in individual 1oz SOLO cups, fed artificial whet-germ based diet and kept at 25C, 16:8 L:D cycle, until 3rd instar
- newly 3rd instar larvae were then randomly selected and transferred to one of the two host plants (broccoli and tomato) in a greenhouse
- After pathogen application, larvae were collected and reared individually in 1oz SOLO cups, fed artificial whet-germ based diet and kept at 25C, 16:8 L:D cycle
Data collected:
- individual date of death or pupation (survival)
- cause of death
- if death occured, death cause by fungal infection where checked for signs of sporulation on the cadaver
Funding
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council