Effect of intercropping cowpea with maize on the performance of Metarhizium anisopliae against Megalurothrips sjostedti (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and predators

Field experiments were conducted to assess the combined effects of intercropping maize and the application of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorok or synthetic insecticide on the density of Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom) and the yield of cowpea Thrips density and damage were significantly lower in the intercrop treated with fungus than in the control plots. Mortality caused by mycosis was significantly higher in cowpea intercrop than in the monocrop. Flower and pod production were significantly higher within the intercrop treated with M. anisopliae than in the monocrop also treated with fungus. In both seasons, grain yields in the cowpea intercrop treated with M. anisopliae did not differ from yields within cowpea intercrop treated with Karate (Lambda-cyhalothrin). M. anisopliae had no adverse effect on populations of nontarget organisms. Our results suggest that hi. anisopliae is a promising candidate for the management of M. sjostedti, especially within a cowpea/maize intercropping systems.