RUDN University agronomists learned how to destroy potato aphids using harmless mushrooms

The potato is one of the most important vegetable crops for food systems in all countries. At the same time, it is also one of the most pathogen-prone crops. Many bacteria and viruses enter potatoes through insect vectors. For example, the aphid Myzus persicae infects potatoes with viruses, this causes the death of the plant and leads to loss of yield. To protect potatoes, agronomists use insecticides. Unfortunately, often farmers do not take into account sanitary standards and exceed the adequate dose of insecticides. This leads not only to environmental consequences, but also to repeated outbreaks of pests. RUDN University agronomists with colleagues from Algeria proposed an alternative solution to this problem — to use Cladosporium fungi to fight aphids .

“The fight against most potato viral diseases is based on the fight against aphids as biological vectors. It is carried out with the help of regular application of insecticides. But there are no regulatory standards, and farmers use insecticides irrationally. This comes at a high cost and can lead to many problems. For example, secondary outbreaks of pests, the destruction of beneficial fauna, environmental pollution,” Rebuch Nazih, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Environmental Management of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia.

Agronomists used the mushroom Cladosporium. These organisms are endophytes , that is, they inhabit plants and do not cause any negative effects. Agronomists prepared several solutions with different concentrations of three types of endophyte fungi — from 20% to 80%. Aphids were placed on individual potato leaves and then sprayed with solutions. Ten hours later, agronomists counted the number of surviving aphids.

All three species at all concentrations were active against the potato aphid Myzus persicae. Even the lowest effective solution killed 45% of aphids. The best result was achieved for the fungus species BEL 21 at a concentration of 80% — it destroyed 94.96% of aphids.

“Solutions with cultures of endophytic fungi turned out to be effective preparations for combating potato aphids. The use of these bioproducts disrupts the vital activity and stability of this pest. Therefore, we recommend not only to continue to improve these formulations, but also to look for new applications. For example, for seed treatment,” Rebuch Nazih, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Environmental Management of the Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia.

The results are published in Plants magazine.