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Study of the persistence and viability of Metarhizium acridum in Mexico’s agricultural area

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Abstract

Locust is one of the most predominant agricultural pests in Mexico, followed by non-migratory grasshoppers. Their devastating effects cover numerous Mexican states, generating important economic losses. Metarhizium acridum (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) has been employed in Mexico as a microbial agent for biological control for some time. However, questions related to the long-term persistence and viability of the fungus after it has been sprayed over crop fields remain to be elucidated. To resolve these questions, we performed a study in a crop field where an abundant population of the grasshopper Sphenarium purpurascens (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae) is present. The fungus M. acridum was sprayed during August and October 2007. Its presence in the air, soil and vegetative cover was subsequently monitored using molecular methods and culture techniques. The results showed that the fungus was viable on the ground during the follow-up period (66 weeks). Its population fluctuated markedly, however, reaching four times its initial concentration and later decreasing to nearly half its initial concentration by the end of the study. The initial concentrations of the fungus in the air and in the vegetative cover decayed steadily (with some small, isolated recoveries) until its complete disappearance after 8 months.

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Acknowledgments

We want to express our gratitude to Posgrado de Ciencias Biológicas of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) for the support given to the student C. Guerrero-Guerra for the present study as part of his Doctoral thesis and to Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología of Mexico (CONACYT) for the scholarship granted (203979). We also want to express our gratitude to M.Sc. Miguel Meneses and the engineers Gutiérrez López W. and García y Espinos M. for their technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, México, D.F., Mexico

    César Guerrero-Guerra, Ivonn Santiago-López, María Elena Calderón-Segura & Carmen Calderón-Ezquerro

  2. Departamento de Micología y Parasitología Facultad de Medicina, UNAM, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, México, D.F., Mexico

    María del Roció Reyes-Montes & Conchita Toriello

  3. Centro de Investigación en Biotecnología, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Mexico

    Víctor Hernández-Velázquez

  4. Departamento de Edafología, Instituto de Geología, UNAM, Circuito Exterior, Ciudad Universitaria, C.P. 04510, México, D.F., Mexico

    Lucia Mora-Palomino

  5. Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Av. Ciudad Universitaria 3000, C.P. 04360, Coyoacán, D.F., Mexico

    César Guerrero-Guerra

  6. Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Apdo. 59, 29080, Málaga, Spain

    Silvia Docampo Fernández

Authors
  1. César Guerrero-Guerra
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  2. María del Roció Reyes-Montes
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  3. Conchita Toriello
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  4. Víctor Hernández-Velázquez
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  5. Ivonn Santiago-López
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  6. Lucia Mora-Palomino
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  7. María Elena Calderón-Segura
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  8. Silvia Docampo Fernández
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  9. Carmen Calderón-Ezquerro
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Correspondence to Carmen Calderón-Ezquerro.

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Guerrero-Guerra, C., Reyes-Montes, M.R., Toriello, C. et al. Study of the persistence and viability of Metarhizium acridum in Mexico’s agricultural area. Aerobiologia 29, 249–261 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-012-9277-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-012-9277-8

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