Toxicity of Photorhabdus Luminescens Against Diamond Back Moth, Plutella Xylostella (L)

Diamond Back Moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L) is an oligophagous pest of both wild and cultivated crucifers including oilseed and vegetable crops. DBM has been found to be resistant to multiple insecticides covering already all insecticide classes and also is the only insect pest that has developed first resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt).The activity Bt proteins has spurred a renewed effort to develop a useful alternatives. In recent years, several novel insecticidal proteins have been discovered in Photorhabdus luminescens. The bacterium belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae is a symbiont of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis species. Photorhabdus species have been the subject of intense study 'by agricultural scientists because of the role played by these bacteria in controlling the insect pests. Considering the ability of P. luminescens for their insecticidal property, pathogenicity of the bacteFia was studied against P. xylostella. Laboratory bioassay was performed which showed that the larvae of DBM died in 72 hours indicating that the bacteria alone is sufficient to kill the insect.