Development of microbial pesticides against melolontha melolontha L. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) from metarhizium anisopliae

Melolontha melolontha (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) is one of the serious agricultural pests. Larvae cause damage to the roots of the plants, causing the plant to dry. In this study; oil-based mycoinsecticide has been developed to be used in the fight against pests, Metarhizium anisopliae KTU-2 strain, a local isolate, was used for mycoinsekticide development. After the spores were grown in the biphasic culture system, an oil phase formulation was prepared. The prepared formulation contains Triton X-100, Sodium carbonate and silicon. Efficacy trials of the formulation were tested by pot experiments on Melolontha melolontha. As a result, it was observed that even at the lowest dose (105 spores / ml) it caused 80% mortality. In addition, the average lethal concentration (LC50) value was calculated using the Abott formula and determined as 9.29 × 103 spores / ml for Melolontha melolontha. Our findings indicated that oil-based formulation of Metarhizium anisopliae KTU-2 can be used for management of M. melolontha.