Occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi in soils from Central Italy under different managements

The spectrum and frequency of occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi in the soil under different managements (woodland, grassland, lucerne and wheat) in Central Italy was studied. Fungi were isolated from soil by means of G. mellonella larvae as baits. Three entomopathogenic fungal species: Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus were isolated. B. bassiana was detected from all investigated soils and was the only fungal species isolated from woodland soil, infecting up to 77 % of bait insects. In the soil from other types of management, B. bassiana occurred in lower frequency, infecting from 2.2 to 14.3 % of larvae. Paecilomyces fumosoroseus was isolated from all soils with the exception of the woodland whereas M. anisopliae occurred only once in the soil from wheat field. The frequency of the occurrence of entomogenous fungal species in the soil under different managements, measured by % of infected G. mellonella larvae, was as follows: 77.3 % woodland, 27.5 % wheat field, 16.5 % lucerne and 9.3 % grassland.