EVALUATION OF THE NEMATODE, STEINERNEMA FELTIAE FILIPJEV, FOR THE CONTROL OF THE CRUCIFER FLEA BEETLE, PHYLLOTRETA CRUCIFERAE (GOEZE) (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE)

Abstract

AbstractWater suspensions of the entomogenous nematode, Steinernema feltiae Filipjev (“All” strain), were applied to the soil of caged microplot stands of canola, Brassica napus L. cv. Tower, colonized by overwintering adults of the crucifer flea beetle, Phyllotreta cruciferae (Goeze), at the rate of about 1 × 106 infective juveniles per 0.8 m2 soil surface. Single treatments, which were applied before and after the colonization, did not affect the flea beetle adults or their progeny as evidenced by the number of new generation adults that subsequently emerged from the soil. Bioassays with wax moth larvae, Galleria melonella (Linn.), showed that the infectivity of nematodes in the soil declined sharply within 6 days of treatment. High concentrations of the herbicide Treflan®, with which the soil was treated, did not affect the infectivity of the nematodes. Under the conditions of the test, S. feltiae appeared to have no potential as a biological control agent for the crucifer flea beetle.