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Saprophytic fungi plays a crucial role in the pest management programme. Culture and mass production of the fungi is a tedious, laborious, time consuming and cost effective process. To minimize the use of chemicals, the metabolic products of the fungi have been utilized in the pest management progamme for the past one decade. A study was designed to evaluate the insecticidal activity of Beauvaria bassiana (Balasmo) Vuillimin.(BB) and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin. (MA) crude metabolic extracts and fungal spores against Dysdercus cingulatus (Fab.) under in-vitro conditions. The toxicity bioassay revealed that MAF1 treated cotton seeds fed D. cingulatus showed high mortality (44.44%). Irrespective of the metabolic fractions and fungal spores, body weight of D.cingulatus gradually diminished when the nymph grew older. Maximum body weight reduction was recorded in BBF2 (44.3%) category followed by BBF1 (45.4%) and the metabolites showed higher activity than fungal spores. Treatments also reduced total body protein content. Maximum reduction was recorded in BBF2 (0.09mg/g) followed by MAF1 (0.102mg/g). Amylase level was highly reduced by MAF2 (0.036µg/mg) followed by BBF2 (0.085 µg/mg). Higher protease activity resulted in BBF2 (9.1x10-5 µg/mg) followed by BBF1 (6.5x10-5 µg/mg). The detoxification enzyme, glutamate oxalate transaminase (GOT) activity was highly reduced in BBF2 (1.8x10-5 µg/mg) followed by MAF2 (2.5x10-5 µg/mg). These observations indicated the potential of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae as the simple, inexpensive and accessible source of bioinsecticide to manage sucking pests like D.cingulatus.
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