Evaluación de aislados de Beauveria spp. como biocontrolador de broca del café (Hypothenemus hampei Ferrari) en las principales zonas cafetaleras del cantón Morona

Abstract

The cultivation of coffee has taken on great importance in the province of Morona Santiago, partially due to the project “Reactivación del Café y Cacao Fino de Aroma,” promoted by the MAG. However, coffee growers in this area seek to improve their income by producing specialty coffee - one of these being organic coffee. Crop losses caused by the Hypothenemus hampei insect are high. To combat this, the use of entomopathogenic organisms as an alternative to integrated pest management can be satisfactory. Beauveria spp. encompasses one of the most effective genera of entomopathogenic fungi for pest control; therefore, the present research work evaluates Beauveria spp. as a biocontroller for H. hampei. Borers infected with Beauveria spp. in 13 farms, corresponding to the Morona Canton parishes Cuchaentza, General Proaño, San Isidro, Sinaí and Sevilla Don Bosco, were isolated by direct sowing of the mycelium in petri dishes with a potato dextrose agar culture medium. For morphological identification at the macroscopic level, the following elements were evaluated: shape, elevation, texture of the mycelium and the front and back color, surface, and the presence of sinnemas. As for the microscopic level, the following were evaluated: length of conidiophores, phialides, and size of conidia. The biocontrol ability was determined by means of a bioassay at the laboratory level, in which adults of H. hampei were inoculated with a solution of Beauveria spp. at a concentration of 1x107 conidia/ml. Percentage of mortality was determined over a period of 15 days and the lethal time set at 50%. Strains 1, 6, 41 and 53 experienced higher percentages of mortality throughout the experiment with respect to the control.