Natural occurrence of entomophthoroid fungi of aphid pests on Medicago sativa L. in Argentina

Four species of entomophthoroid fungi, Pandora neoaphidis (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae), Zoophthora radicans (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae), Entomophthora planchoniana (Entomophthorales: Entomophthoraceae) and Neozygites fresenii (Neozygitales: Neozygitaceae) were found to infect Aphis craccivora, Therioaphis trifolii, and Acyrthosiphon pisum and unidentifi ed species of Acyrthosiphon on lucerne in Argentina. Samples were collected from fi ve sites (Ceres, Rafaela, Sarmiento, Monte Vera and Bernardo de Irigoyen) in the province of Santa Fe. In this study, Zoophthora radicans was the most important pathogen and was recorded mainly on Acyrthosiphon sp. Zoophthora radicans was successfully isolated and maintained in pure cultures. This study is the fi rst report of entomophthoroid fungi infecting lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) aphids in Argentina. © 2013 Asociacion Argentina de Microbiologia. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.