Isolation of Mosquitocidal Bacteria from Soil Samples to Control Mosquito Vectors

In the present study, an attempt was made to screen and isolate potent and ecofriendly mosquitocidal bacteria from different soils collected from Union Territory of Puducherry, India. From a total of 140 soil samples, 16 isolates showed mosquitocidal activity. Out of these 16 isolates, two bacteria isolated from red soil of Kalapet and Kanagachettikulam villages of Union Territory of Puducherry, India with code no. PYKAL-31A and PYKC-33C were found to be most potent. Extensive bioassay was carried out with these two bacterial strains against larvae of Anopheles stephensi, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. The LC₅₀ and LC₉₀ values of PYKAL-31A against Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles stephensi were 0.007, 0.011, 0.015 and 0.015, 0.021 and 0.029, respectively and that of PYKC-33C were 0.009, 0.014, 0.013 and 0.015, 0.026, 0.023, respectively.