Field evaluation of entomopathogenic fungi for the management of cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora in lucerne

The field experiment conducted with four entomopathogenic fungi, namely Verticillium lecanii, Beauveria bassiana Metarhizium anisopliae and Nomuraea rileyii and their half dose combination with each other revealed that the effectiveness of fungi, V. lecanii and B. bassiana @ 4x106 cfu/ml (2g/l) and half dose of each in managing A. caracivora population were at par with each other than against other treatments. Fungi M.anisopliae and N.rileyii proved least effective when tried solely. However, these could be used against beetle and lepidopteron pests, respectively. Aphid incidence significantly affected the green forage yield, dry matter yield and seed yield in lucerne. V.lecanii treated plots registered the highest green forage yield (390.33 q ha⁻¹), dry matter yield (82.0 q h⁻¹) and seed yield (2.20 q ha⁻¹) followed by B. bassiana when used sole or in combination. All the entomopathogens were found absolutely safe and showed no adverse effect on aphid predators and pollinators of lucerne.