Studi Efektivitas Beauveria bassiana dan Metarhizium anisopliae Sebagai Agen Biokontrol terhadap Hama Tanaman

Abstract

The genus Spodoptera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) consists of about 30 species and is considered one of the most important pests in cultivated plants. The presence of polyphagous properties makes the genus Spodoptera infect more than 100 plant species, of which most of the plants attacked by Spodoptera are economically important plants. The attack of the larvae of the genus Spodoptera is carried out in groups by eating the leaves of plants so that this larval attack causes severe damage to agricultural and horticultural crops. To overcome the attack of larvae from the genus Spodoptera, the use of entomopathogenic fungi is an environmentally friendly control technique. It is known that entomopathogenic fungi of the species Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae are said to be effective in controlling insect pests from the order Lepidoptera. Based on literature studies from 5 international journals, it is known that Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae can be used as biocontrol agents against larvae from the Genus Spodoptera. This is because these two entomopathogenic fungi are capable of causing disease and even death in the test insects. The mortality values of the test insects produced by Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae varied, some were worth > 50 and some were < 50. The range of the tested insect mortality values was between 9.31 – 100%. The effectiveness of entomopathogenic fungi against test insects is influenced by several factors such as the entomopathogenic fungal strain, spore density, and age of the instar larvae.