Evaluation of the effect of the fungus Beauveria bassiana BB3 isolate on the tea mealy bug population in Roodsar and Fuman tea gardens

Articles in Press

Document Type : Short paper

Authors

1 Tea Research Center, Horticulture Science Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Lahijan, Iran

2 Plant Protection Research Department, Sistan Agriculture and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Zabol, Iran

Abstract

Due to stable microclimate in tea garden, it is attacked by various pests and diseases. The tea mealybug is one of the most damaging pests of tea, which causes a decrease in quantity and quality of the crop yield in the north of Iran. In this study, the efficacy of a wettable powder formulation of the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana, BB3 isolate was evaluated in control of tea mealybug in tea gardens at Rudsar and Fuman regions. The use of a wettable powder formulation of B. bassiana against tea mealybug in two geographical regions, the east (Rudsar) and the west (Fuman), and in three time periods resulted in a significant reduction (p<0.05) in population density of the pest. The greatest decrease in the pest population was observed in mid-April and late May for Rudsar and Fuman, respectively. By calculating the income and cost of spraying with the fungal formulation used, it was determined that at least 35 million rials of net profit per hectare will accrue to the gardener from the absence of damage to the leaves. Therefore, entomopathogenic fungi can be used for large-scale commercial production due to their ability to parasitize insect pests and protect plants against them, as well as their low production cost.

Keywords

Applied Research in Plant Protection

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 30 April 2026

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History

  • Receive Date: 06 November 2025
  • Revise Date: 03 January 2026
  • Accept Date: 08 February 2026

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