EFFICACY OF BIOCANEâ„¢ AGAINST SOUTHERN ONE-YEAR CANEGRUB, ANTITROGUS CONSANGUINEUS

BIOCANEâ„¢, which contains isolate FI-1045 (CSIRO Insect Pathogen Culture Collection) of the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, is registered for use against greyback canegrub Dermolepida albohirtum (Waterhouse). FI-1045 was isolated from a greyback canegrub in 1994. Bioassays of FI-1045 in peat showed that it was equally pathogenic against southern one-year canegrub, Antitrogus consanguineus (Blackburn). Passaging of the fungal culture a single time through either greyback canegrub or southern one-year canegrub did not affect its virulence to those species significantly. Efficacy of BioCaneâ„¢ against southern one-year canegrub was demonstrated in field trials for at least 2 years after application to soil at 5 g/m of cane row, the application rate currently registered for its use against greyback canegrub. Spore levels higher than in untreated plots were maintained for at least 3 years. Results demonstrate that BioCaneâ„¢ could be used for control of southern oneyear canegrub at the same application rate as used for greyback canegrub, and could probably be registered and marketed for that purpose if there were sufficient demand from growers.