Screening of Adjuvants as sunlight protectant for NPV and evaluation of storage conditions against Spodoptera litura

This experimental study evaluated the effect of adjuvant supplementation on larval mortality of nuclear polyhedrosis virus under sunlight. Study revealed that Tinopal @1% provided best protection from sunlight and retained viral efficacy up to 68.75 and 66.75% in SpltNPV (native) and SpltNPV (NIPHM) respectively, against third instar larvae of Spodoptera litura (F). However, all adjutants resulted in significantly higher larval mortality as compared to control (virus alone) under sunlight. SpltNPV viral formulations stored at different storage conditions recorded minimum reduction in larval mortality, when stored in amber coloured glass bottle at refrigeration temperature (4± 2°C).