Isolation and identification of indigenous entomopathogenic fungi infecting brown plant hopper on rice from Andhra Pradesh, India

The brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) is a highly destructive pest of rice. Among the promising eco-friendly alternatives for insect pest management is the use of entomopathogenic fungi. The present study aimed to isolate and identify, both morphologically and molecularly, strains of entomopathogenic fungi infecting brown planthopper populations in rice fields of Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh, India. Two fungal strains were isolated and morphologically characterised: one belonging to Beauveria bassiana and the other to Metarhizium anisopliae. Molecular identification revealed sequence identity values greater than 99 % with reference strains of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae in public databases. Phylogenetic analysis further confirmed that the obtained sequences clustered within the respective clades of B. bassiana and M. anisopliae, validating the morphological and molecular identification.