Soil properties affect the availability, movement, and virulence of entomopathogenic fungi conidia against puparia of Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

► The availability and movement of entomopathogenic fungi conidia in the soil are affected by the properties of the soil. ► B. bassiana conidia to be retained by clay particles, and this effect disappeared with increasing ionic strength. ► The availability of M. anisopliae conidia is lower in sandy than in clayey soils and was not influenced by ionic strength. ► The most of the added fungal propagules were recovered from the surface layer of columns. ► Neither soil texture nor ionic strength affected the infectivity of conidia of both fungal strains to C. capitata puparia.