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Field trials were conducted to assess the performance of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae against cashew stem and root borer, Plocaederus ferrugineus Linn (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) and to compare them with conventional prophylatic treatment with insecticides. Cashew trees with early phase of borer infestation were marked and the treatments were applied sequentially adopting different delivery methods viz., swabbing of saturated conidial-mud slurry over tree trunk, pouring saturated aqueous suspension of conidia through larval entry holes and soil incorporation of fungal spawn, after removing the grubs and cleaning the frass materials. The effectiveness of treatments was assessed based on the extent of recovery of infested trees. All the treatments were superior to untreated control in reducing the borer infestation. Variations among the treatments could be observed with higher co-efficient of variation with 58.16 per cent. The efficacy of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae were on a par, but the delivery methods varied significantly. Pouring conidial suspension effected 33.3-36.4% recovery of infested trees followed by swabbing conidial slurry with 23.0- 25.0% and soil application with 15.4-16.6% recovered trees. Conventional insecticidal treatments remained superior with 46.2-50.0% recovery of infested trees. However, implementation of fungal application in integrated control of P. ferrugineus should be considered, because fungi would not only safer to non-target organisms, but also be more effective in the long term pest control programme.
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