Greenhouse Evaluation of Dose– and Time–Mortality Relationships of Two Nucleopolyhedroviruses for the Control of Beet Armyworm, Spodoptera exigua,on Chrysanthemum

Dose– and time–mortality relationships of baculoviruses in pest insects are important for the determination of effective spraying regimes. A series of experiments with Autographa californicamulticapsid nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV) and Spodoptera exiguaMNPV (SeMNPV) against synchronized populations of S. exigualarvae in greenhouse chrysanthemum was conducted. Dose– and time–mortality relationships of different virus concentrations and S. exiguatarget stages were determined and the area foliage consumption was measured. Crop injury was greatly reduced when S. exiguawere controlled as second or third instar larvae, whereas virus applications against fourth instar larvae could not prevent considerable crop injury, even at high concentrations. SeMNPV was approximately 10 times as infectious as AcMNPV when applied on greenhouse chrysanthemum. The relative virulence of AcMNPV and SeMNPV corresponded reasonably well with previously published laboratory bioassay data. SeMNPV killed second and fourth instar S. exigualarvae approximately 12 h faster than did AcMNPV in chrysanthemum, but no difference in speed of action was found for third instar larvae. The relative speed of action of AcMNPV and SeMNPV determined in chrysanthemum and in laboratory bioassays did not correspond for third instar S. exigualarvae; laboratory bioassay data can therefore not simply be extrapolated to the crop level.