A comparison between the effectiveness of the fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae for the control of Argas persicus with the emphasis of histopathological changes in the integument.

Argas persicus is an important ectoparasite of domestic fowl that causes heavy economic losses to the poultry industry. The present study was carried out to compare and assess the effects induced by spraying the fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae separately, on the mobility and viability of semifed adult A. persicus, also to follow the histopathological effect induced by a selected concentration of 1010 conidia/ml of B. bassiana on the integument. Biological studies revealed a more or less similar pattern of response in adults treated with either of the two fungi (Increasing concentration resulting in more death along with examined period). As the estimated LC50 and LC95 of B. bassiana were recorded 5 × 109 and 4.6 × 1012 conidia/ml, respectively, and for M. anisopliae were 3 × 1011 and 2.7 × 1016 conidia/ml respectively, the fungus B. bassiana was more efficient than M. anisopliae when applied at the same concentrations. The study revealed that spraying of Beauveria at 1012 conidia/ml is sufficient to control A. persicus as it recorded 100% efficacy, so it might be selected to be the effective dose. Histological investigation of the integument treated with B. bassiana revealed the dispersal of the hyphal network on the after 11 days of treatment, accompanied by other changes. Results from our study verify the susceptibility of A. persicus to the pathogenic effect induced by spraying B. bassiana, which is sufficient for its control with the recording better results.