Composition of Parasitic Fungi on Coffee Root Mealybugs and Cicadas in DakLak Province

Abstract

      A study was conducted to isolate parasitic fungi on mealybugs and cicadas attacking coffee roots, making materials available for research and selection of entomopathogenic fungi with high activity to produce biopesticides for controlling mealybugs and cicadas damaging on coffee roots. In 2013, 421 samples of coffee root-ìnfested mealybugs and cicadas parasitized by fungi were collected from coffee plantations in Dak Lak province. A toatl of 156 isolates of entomopathogenic fungi belogning to 4 genera were isolated, including Beauveria, Cordyceps, Metarhizium and Paecilomyces. Based on morphological identification, 18 samples were selected for DNA sequencing and 7 species were genetically identified, i.e. Beauveria bassiana, Cordyceps bassiana, Cordyceps cicadae, Cordyceps takaomontana, Metarhizium cylindrosporae, Paecilomyces lilacinus and Paecilomyces hepiali. These are new species parasitized on coffee root mealybugs and cicadas and are identified for the first time in Viet Nam by DNA sequencing.