Isolation, phenotypic and genotypic characterization of indigenous Beauveria bassiana isolates from date palm infested with Rhynchophorus ferrugineus in Hail region, Saudi Arabia

The red palm weevil (RPW) Rhynchophorus ferrugineus overrun date palm ranches in many parts of Saudi Arabia, henceforth causes massive economic losses. Integrated pest Management (IPM) of the RPW by utilizing Entomopathogenic fungi (Bcauvcria bassiana), which has antagonistic activity against many insect pests, was the main objective of the current study. In the present study, soil samples, samples of dead red palm weevils (RPW) and palm fronds were collected according to RPW incidence map of Hail region, Saudi Arabia. Isolates of entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from the dead RPW adults and larvae. The fungal culture (BSA1, BH-2 and BH-3) was preserved and maintained for further analysis. Morphological and biochemical characterization of the antagonist fungi were employed and confirmed that the fungus belonged to Bcauvcria spp. Further, this fungal isolates were propagated and prepared for genetic characterization. Sequencing of internal transcribed spacers ( ITS1 and ITS2) region was shown that three polymorphic ITS regions. The molecular identification of the fungus strain was employed at King Faisal University-the College of Agriculture and Food Science and confirmed that the fungus identified as Bcauvcria bassiana as the first record of this beneficial species in Hail region.