Persistence of Metarhizium anisopliae incorporated into soilless potting media for control of the black vine weevil, Otiorhynchus sulcatus in container-grown ornamentals

The objective of this study was to determine the persistence of Metarhizium anisopliae (F52), measured as infectivity against black vine weevil larvae, in a soilless potting medium at six wholesale nursery locations across the Willamette Valley, Oregon. A granule formulation (0.30 and 0.60 kg/m3) was incorporated into media at planting and fungal persistence determined over two growing seasons. The fungus persisted in the potting media over the duration of the experiment with 50-60% of the larvae exposed to treated media becoming infected at the end of the experiment. The percentage of infected larvae gradually declined from ⩾90% on week 3 to 40-60% by week 19. Larval infection rebounded over the fall and winter months of 2004 to 75-80% followed again by a slow decline over the course of the second growing season.