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Abstract
The pecan weevil, Curculio caryae (Horn), is a major pest of pecans, Carya illinoensis (Koch) Wangenh. Current control tactics are foliar sprays of chemical insecticides that killed natural enemies resulting in increased populations of secondary pests. The entomogenous fungi, Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin, are being developed as alternatives to these insecticides; however, the residual activity of the fungi must be extended to be economically competitive. Laboratory studies demonstrated that both fungi persisted significantly longer in composted cow manure, ground pine bark and composted biosolids than in a Faceville series soil and killed Tenebrio molitor L. larvae through 28 d postinoculation. Field trials in 2006 failed to demonstrate persistence and significant suppression of adult weevils. Microscopy studies of fungal activity in a Faceville series soil showed conidial germination up to 28 d with mycelial growth begining as early as 3 d after inoculation.