EVALUATION OF THE EFFICACY OF A FUNGAL SUSPENSION OF THE FUNGUS BEAUVERIA BASSIANA LOAZDED ON GUM ARABIC IN THE CONTROL OF THE TERMITE MICROCEROTERMES DIVERSUS (SILVESTRI) UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS
Keywords:
Beauveria bassiana, Termites, Gum Arabic, Biological Control, MortalityAbstract
This study was conducted in 2026 to evaluate the efficacy of the fungus B. bassiana in controlling termite workers and to investigate the effect of adding an aqueous solution of gum arabic to the spore suspension in improving fungal infection efficacy under laboratory conditions. The results showed that the fungus was effective in causing infection and mortality, as mortality rates varied according to spore concentration, exposure duration, and treatment type. Fungal efficacy gradually increased with increasing concentration and prolongation of exposure. The concentration(1 x 108) spores/mL recorded the highest averages of dead workers and the highest mortality rates, particularly fourteen days after treatment.
The results also showed that adding the aqueous gum arabic solution to the spore suspension improved fungal efficacy compared with the spore suspension alone. Treatments containing gum arabic achieved higher mortality rates at all concentrations used, indicating that the use of gum arabic can enhance the performance of the fungal inoculum and increase biological control efficacy. Fungal infection was observed to develop gradually over time, reflected in the increasing numbers of dead workers and rising mortality rates until the end of the exposure period.
The results confirm that B. bassiana has promising potential for controlling termites and that improving the fungal inoculum formulation by adding natural adjuvants, such as gum arabic, can contribute to developing more effective and sustainable biological products, supporting their use in integrated pest management programs and reducing reliance on chemical pesticides.
References
Hassan, B., & Nanda, M. A. (2024). Detection and monitoring techniques of termites in buildings: A review. International Biodeterioration & Biodegradation, 195, 105890.
Donovan, S.E., Eggleton, P., Dubbin, W.E.,Batchelder, M., Dibog, L.(2001)The effect of a soil feeding termite, Cubitermes fungifaber (Isoptera: Termitidae) on soil properties: termites may be an important source of soil microhabitat heterogeneity in tropical forests. Pedobiologia,v.45, p.1-11.
Damalas, C. A., & Koutroubas, S. D. (2018). Current status and recent developments in biopesticide use. Agriculture, 8(1), 13.
Mitra, A., Chatterjee, C., & Mandal, F. B. (2011). Synthetic chemical pesticides and their effects on birds. Res J Environ Toxicol, 5(2), 81-96..
Friuli, M., Nitti, P., Cafuero, L., Prete, A., Zafar, M. S., Madaghiele, M., & Demitri, C. (2020). Cellulose acetate and cardanol based seed coating for intraspecific weeding coupled with natural herbicide spraying. Journal of Polymers and the Environment, 28(11), 2893-2904.
Jaronski, S. T. (2023). Mass production of entomopathogenic fungi—state of the art. Mass production of beneficial organisms, 317-357..
Mascarin, G. M., & Jaronski, S. T. (2016). The production and uses of Beauveria bassiana as a microbial insecticide. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 32(11), 177.
Zimmermann, G. (2007). Review on safety of the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana and Beauveria brongniartii. Biocontrol Science and Technology, 17(6), 553-596.
Immediato, D., Camarda, A., Iatta, R., Puttilli, M. R., Ramos, R. A. N., Di Paola, G., ... & Cafarchia, C. (2015). Laboratory evaluation of a native strain of Beauveria bassiana for controlling Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer, 1778)(Acari: Dermanyssidae). Veterinary parasitology, 212(3-4), 478-482.
Nicodemus, G. D., & Bryant, S. J. (2008). Cell encapsulation in biodegradable hydrogels for tissue engineering applications. Tissue Engineering Part B: Reviews, 14(2), 149-165.
Friuli, M., Nitti, P., Aneke, C. I., Demitri, C., Cafarchia, C., & Otranto, D. (2021). Freeze-drying of Beauveria bassiana suspended in Hydroxyethyl cellulose based hydrogel as possible method for storage: Evaluation of survival, growth and stability of conidial concentration before and after processing. Results in Engineering, 12, 100283.
Copping, L. (2013). Biopesticide Market Opportunities–Strategic Knowledge Sharing and Networking Event. Outlooks on Pest Management, 24(3), 136-138..
Aphibanthammakit, C., Barbar, R., Nigen, M., Sanchez, C., & Chalier, P. (2020). Emulsifying properties of Acacia senegal gum: Impact of high molar mass protein-rich AGPs. Food chemistry: X, 6, 100090.
Al-Jassani, Radi. Fadhil., & Al-Zubaidi, Rusul. Abdul Ridha. (2015), Evaluation of the efficacy of the commercial preparation of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae against workers of the termite Microcerotermes diversus (Silv.) under laboratory conditions, Arab Journal of Plant Protection,33(2),216-222.
Reda,H.A., Bakr,S.Z. and Hassan,A.A (2022). Isolation and identification of entomopathogenic fungi and evaluation of their activity for control of palm borers Oryctes.spp in Salah Al-Din Governorate . International Jornal of Agricultural and Statistical Sclences . Sci 18(1): 22-35.
-Goettel, M. S., & Inglis, G. D. (1997). Fungi: hyphomycetes. In Manual of techniques in insect pathology (pp. 213-249). Academic press.
- Lacey, L.A. (1997). Manual of techniques in insect pathology (Biological Techniques). Acadmic press . Sandiego.London.Boston.408 pp.
Al-Salihi, Maan Abdul Aziz. 2006. Evaluation of the efficacy of some pathogenic agents and insect growth regulators in controlling the termite Microcerotermes diversus (Silvester) (Isoptera: Termitidae). PhD dissertation. College of Agriculture, University of Baghdad, Iraq.
Krutmuang, P., & Mekchay, S. (2005). Pathogenicity of entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae against termites. In Conference on International Agricultural Research for Development. Stuttgart-Hohenheim (pp. 1-4).
Gomez, K. A., & Gomez, A. A. (1984). Statistical procedures for agricultural research. John wiley & sons.
Holder, D. J., & Keyhani, N. O. (2005). Adhesion of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria (Cordyceps) bassiana to substrata. Applied and environmental microbiology , 71(9), 5260-5266.
22. Ortiz-Urquiza, A., & Keyhani, N. O. (2013). Action on the surface: entomopathogenic fungi versus the insect cuticle. Insects, 4(3), 357-374.
Prasad, N., Thombare, N., Sharma, S. C., & Kumar, S. (2022). Gum arabic–A versatile natural gum: A review on production, processing, properties and applications. Industrial Crops and Products, 187, 115304.
Sajap, A.S. and K. Kaur. 1990. Histopathology of Metarhizium anisopliae, an entomopathogenic fungus infection in the termite, Coptotermes curvignathus.Pertanika, 13: 331-334.
Milner, R. J. (2001). Application of biological control agents in mound building termite-Experiences with Metarhizium in Australia. In Proceeding of 2^< nd> International Symposium on Coptotermes formosanus. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Wang, H., Peng, H., Li, W., Cheng, P., & Gong, M. (2021). The toxins of Beauveria bassiana and the strategies to improve their virulence to insects. Frontiers in microbiology, 12, 705343.
Islam, W., Adnan, M., Shabbir, A., Naveed, H., Abubakar, Y. S., Qasim, M., ... & Ali, H. (2021). Insect-fungal-interactions: A detailed review on entomopathogenic fungi pathogenicity to combat insect pests. Microbial Pathogenesis, 159, 105122.
Sharma, A., Sharma, S., & Yadav, P. K. (2023). Entomopathogenic fungi and their relevance in sustainable agriculture: A review. Cogent Food & Agriculture, 9(1), 2180857.
Ortiz-Urquiza, A. (2021). The split personality of Beauveria bassiana: understanding the molecular basis of fungal parasitism and mutualism. Msystems, 6(4), 10-1128.
Wang, Y., Liu, Z., Yin, X., Liu, S., Wang, K., Wan, R., ... & Huang, B. (2023). Variation in Bombyx mori immune response against fungal pathogen Beauveria bassiana with variability in cell wall β‐1, 3‐glucan. Insect Science, 31(1), 211-224.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Kyzylorda Scholarly Review
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
CC BY
This license enables reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format, so long as attribution is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use. CC BY includes the following elements:
BY: credit must be given to the creator.
