Efficacy and persistence of a commercial formulation of bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki against larvae of spodoptera littoralis (boisd.) (lepidoptera: noctuidae) on two host plants [electronic resource].

Includes reference.

Using Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) as environmentally safe biocontrol agent for controlling polyphagous lepidopterous larvae showed different efficacy levels on a certain target pest in relation to the treated host plant. This result depends on the fact that certain plant species contain chemical components that affect the development of the microbe. Testing sap of different plants (in vitro) or feeding larvae on different host plants (in vivo) by many authors demonstrated this pheuomenon, e.g., Kushner and Harvey (1962), Smimoff and Hutchison (1964),Kudler and Lesenko (1981) and EI-Husseini et al.(2000). Merdan et al. (1975) and Atalla (1992) proved in both in vitro and in vivo tests that the Egyptian clover, Trifolium alexandrinum L. includes no such components.

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