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Evaluate the efficacy of two entomopathogenic fungi on rice seedlings infested with African Rice Gall Midge eggs.

June 18, 2026Open Access

Comparative effect of Metarhizium anisopliae– Meta31 as Biocontrol agent on African Rice Gall Midge (Orseolia oryzivora) Eggs infestation on Rice Plant

OOO.E. OyetunjiOlusegun Agagu University of Science and Technology AOA. C. OdebodeUniversity of Ibadan FNF.E. NwileneAfrica Rice Center

Key Points

Evaluate the efficacy of two entomopathogenic fungi on rice seedlings infested with African Rice Gall Midge eggs.
Tested three strains of Metarhizium anisopliae and one other fungus on rice seedlings in a controlled screen house.
Collected and analyzed infestation, physiological, and agronomical data.
Measured the percentage of non-infested tillers.
M. anisopliae Meta31 achieved 84.13±0.9% non-infested tillers.
The non-infested tiller advantage over control was 22.19±0.25%.
Tiller infestation negatively correlated with chlorophyll content, leaf breadth, and grain number.

Abstract

Background: African Rice Gall Midge (AfRGM) Orseolia oryzivora Harris & Gagné (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a major insect pest primarily of rainfed and irrigated lowland rice in Africa. Heavy yield losses of 25–100% have been recorded in farmers’ fields thereby reducing the production capacity to very low ebb in an endemic situation. It is therefore necessary to provide quality measures that are germane to managing the menace of this pest on rice to enhance food security. Objectives: Two entomopathogenic fungi with three strains each were evaluated in this study to assess their efficacy on rice seedlings infested with eggs of AfRGM. Methods: Three strains each of the two fungi was tested on rice seedling infested with AfRGM eggs in the screen cage placed under screen house. Infestation, physiological and agronomical data were taken and evaluated. Results: The study showed that M. anisopliae Meta31 had the greatest control effect on AfRGM eggs with 84.13±0.9% non-infested tillers. The percentage of non-infested tiller advantage over the control followed the same trend with M. anisopliae Meta31 having the greatest value of 22.19±0.25%. Tiller infestation was negatively correlated with chlorophyll content, leaf breadth and grain number. Conclusion: The tiller infestation showed the efficacy of M. anisopliae Meta31 and it can be used as biocontrol agent for controlling the infestation of AfRGM without any negative effect on the plant health.

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