Suppressive effects of endophytic Beauveria bassiana on a stem boring pest of quinoa
- 1Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
- 2Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, United States
Abstract
Introduction: Beauveria bassiana is a widely used entomopathogenic fungus that can colonize plants endophytically, offering a potential strategy for managing endophagous insect pests that are difficult to target with conventional non-systemic insecticides.
Methods: We evaluated whether B. bassiana can establish endophytically in quinoa, Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (Caryophyllales: Amaranthaceae) and suppress population growth of Amauromyza karli (Diptera: Agromyzidae), an emerging stem-boring pest in North American production systems. Quinoa seeds were inoculated by soaking in a conidial suspension prior to sowing.
Results: Seed inoculation and the culture medium used to recover B. bassiana from surface sterilized plant tissues significantly affected colonization and detection of B. bassiana, respectively. The highest colonization frequency (70%) was detected at 7 days after germination using seed inoculation with B. bassiana + Silwet L-77 and Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDAY) with yeast extract as recovery medium. Colonization detection was time-specific and by 28 days after germination, B. bassiana was recovered only from plants in the B. bassiana + Silwet L-77 treatment with 10% colonization using SDAY as recovery medium. We further experimentally assessed the impact of B. bassiana inoculations on suppression of A. karli populations in potted quinoa plants exposed to natural field infestation over two years and in directly sown field plots. Seed inoculation did not significantly reduce larval density in either experiment, though, exit-hole density was significantly lower in B. bassiana-treated plants in the directly sown field experiment and showed a similar but non-significant trend in potted plants.
Discussion: No mycosed larvae were recovered, suggesting that reduced exit-hole density might have resulted from sublethal or plant-mediated effects on larval development rather than direct fungal-induced mortality. These findings suggest that B. bassiana can establish endophytically in quinoa and indicate that seed treatments with B. bassiana may reduce infestation of A. karli, offering a potential strategy for managing this emerging pest.
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BibTeX
@article{panwar2026suppressive,
title = {{Suppressive effects of endophytic Beauveria bassiana on a stem boring pest of quinoa}},
author = {Neha Panwar and Jane E Stewart and Jorge R. Ibarra Caballero and Thomas Seth Davis and Adrianna Szczepaniec},
journal = {Frontiers in Fungal Biology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/ffunb.2026.1995993},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2026.1995993},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Suppressive effects of endophytic Beauveria bassiana on a stem boring pest of quinoa
AU - Neha Panwar
AU - Jane E Stewart
AU - Jorge R. Ibarra Caballero
AU - Thomas Seth Davis
AU - Adrianna Szczepaniec
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Fungal Biology
DO - 10.3389/ffunb.2026.1995993
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/ffunb.2026.1995993
AB - Introduction: Beauveria bassiana is a widely used entomopathogenic fungus that can colonize plants endophytically, offering a potential strategy for managing endophagous insect pests that are difficult to target with conventional non-systemic insecticides. Methods: We evaluated whether B. bassiana can establish endophytically in quinoa, Chenopodium quinoa Willd. (Caryophyllales: Amaranthaceae) and suppress population growth of Amauromyza karli (Diptera: Agromyzidae), an emerging stem-boring pest in North American production systems. Quinoa seeds were inoculated by soaking in a conidial suspension prior to sowing. Results: Seed inoculation and the culture medium used to recover B. bassiana from surface sterilized plant tissues significantly affected colonization and detection of B. bassiana, respectively. The highest colonization frequency (70%) was detected at 7 days after germination using seed inoculation with B. bassiana + Silwet L-77 and Sabouraud dextrose agar (SDAY) with yeast extract as recovery medium. Colonization detection was time-specific and by 28 days after germination, B. bassiana was recovered only from plants in the B. bassiana + Silwet L-77 treatment with 10% colonization using SDAY as recovery medium. We further experimentally assessed the impact of B. bassiana inoculations on suppression of A. karli populations in potted quinoa plants exposed to natural field infestation over two years and in directly sown field plots. Seed inoculation did not significantly reduce larval density in either experiment, though, exit-hole density was significantly lower in B. bassiana-treated plants in the directly sown field experiment and showed a similar but non-significant trend in potted plants. Discussion: No mycosed larvae were recovered, suggesting that reduced exit-hole density might have resulted from sublethal or plant-mediated effects on larval development rather than direct fungal-induced mortality. These findings suggest that B. bassiana can establish endophytically in quinoa and indicate that seed treatments with B. bassiana may reduce infestation of A. karli, offering a potential strategy for managing this emerging pest.
SN - 2673-6128
ER -