Evaluation of the time-concentration-mortality responses of Plutella xylostella larvae to the interaction of Beauveria bassiana with a nereistoxin analogue insecticide

Six bioassays were conducted to evaluate the interaction between Beauveria bassiana SG8702 and a nereistoxin analogue insecticide, diammonium S,S'-(2-dimethylaminotrimethylene)di(thiosulfate), which is highly compatible with the fungal biocontrol agent against diamondback moth Plutella xylostella (L.). Second-instar larvae were exposed to sprays of B. bassiana alone (assay 1) at concentrations of 21-38, 157-232 and 822-1133 conidia mm(-2) or together with the insecticide at the low application rates of 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 microg AI ml(-1) (assays 2-6), and then maintained at 25 degrees C and 12:12 h light:dark photoperiod for daily monitoring of mortality for 8 days. Based on the modelling of the resultant time-concentration-mortality data sets, the fungal agent was highly virulent to P. xylostella with an LC50 decreasing from 269 conidia mm(-2) on day 4 to 107 on day 8. Lower lethal concentrations or shorter median lethal times resulted from fungal sprays including the tested chemical rates; the latter never caused higher mortalities than the fungal treatments alone. The fungal action over 3-7 days after spray was significantly enhanced by including in the fungal sprays the chemical at rates of > or =25 microg ml(-1) for 2.6- to 1756-fold reduction of LC50 values, > or =50 microg ml(-1) for 4- to 274-fold reduction of LC70 values and 100 microg ml(-1) for 9- to 33-fold reduction of LC90 values respectively. These rates were equivalent to 5-20% of the chemical rate labelled for field application. The fungal and chemical interaction outlined above highlights the feasibility of combined formulation or application of B. bassiana and the chemical insecticide for P. xylostella control.