Efficacy Silver Nanoparticles of the Crude Filtrates Beauveria Bassiana and Metarhizium Anisopliae Against Parlatoria Blanchardi on Date Palm Under Laboratory Conditions

Fungal crude filtrates and silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have been used to synthesize metallic nanoparticles because of their low toxicity and environmentally friendly properties. Extracellular reaction silver Nano synthesis by two entomopathogenic fungi crude filtrates Beauveria bassiana, and Metarhizium anisopliae acting as reduction and stabilization agents for the nanoparticle formation. The synthesized green silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were used as insecticides against the adult white scale insect, Parlatoria blanchardi (Targioni Tozzetti, 1892)The properties of silver nanoparticles from both fungal filtrates, B.b-AgNPs and M.a-AgNPs, were described using ultraviolet-visible spectrophotometers (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). UV-Vis spectroscopy revealed two distinct absorption peaks at 421 and 340.00 nm, respectively, due to surface plasmon resonance (SPR). FE-SEM analysis showed that the AgNPs–B.b silver nanoparticles were sub-spherical in shape, ranging in size from 32.88 to 69.93 nm, while the M.a-AgNPs silver nanoparticles ranged in size from 35.29 to 97.87 nm. The silver nanoparticles recorded high activity against adult scales, P. blanchardi. In laboratory conditions, after 7 days of treatment with both nanoparticles, B. bassiana and M. anisopliae showed the highest reduction of adult scale populations, 85.3% and 100% at 100 ppm concentration, respectively, compared to 0.00% in the control treatment.