Laboratory Evaluation of the Entomopathogenic Fungus Beauveria bassiana against the Cattle Tick Rhipicephalus (B.) microplus (Acarina: Ixodidiae

Abstract

The research was conducted to evaluate the pathogenicity of fungus namely Beauveria bassiana on the egg and adult stages of the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (B.) microplus. The two fungal strains of Beauveria bassiana were used to compare their efficacy against egg and adult stages of Rhipicephalus (B.) microplus ticks. The susceptibility of the tick to the species of entomopathogenic fungi was evaluated by treating engorged female ticks and eggs with fungi at concentrations viz. 1g×10⁸ conidia/litre, 2×10⁸ conidia/litre 3g×10⁸ conidia/litre, 5g×10⁸ conidia/litre6g×10⁸ conidia/litre. The treatment of ticks and egg was followed as per standard procedure and were observed for further fungal action. The both fungal treatments showed at par results in terms of mortality of adult ticks, reduction in egg laying capacity and hatchability of the treated eggs in comparison with the control and found to be concentration dependent. The hatching rates by the treated groups were inversely proportional to the concentration of conidia used. The results showed that use of Beauveria bassiana fungus might constitute an additional method to an integrated tick management.