Field testing Chinese and Japanese gypsy moth nucleopolyhedrovirus and disparvirus against a Chinese population of Lymantria dispar asiatica in Huhhot, Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China.

ABSTRACT

The activity of three geographic isolates of the gypsy moth nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV) was evaluated in field trials against larvae of the Chinese population of Lymantria dispar asiatica Vnukovskij in Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China, in 2004, 2005, and 2006. Although the Chinese isolate of the virus, LdMNPV-H, was the most pathogenic of the isolates tested, having the lowest mean lethal concentration causing 50% and 95% larval mortality, the increase in efficacy that would be obtained by incorporating this isolate into a commercial product does not justify the time or expense required to register it for use in the United States or Canada. The commercially available North American isolate, LdMNPV-D, was moderately pathogenic, whereas the Japanese isolate, LdMNPV-J, was the least pathogenic. The slopes of the dose-response regression lines for the three virus isolates indicated that the Chinese gypsy moth larvae were more homogenously susceptible to LdMNPV-H and LdMNPV-D than to LdMNPV-J. Time-response data showed that LdMNPV-J was significantly more virulent, but at a much higher dose, than the other two isolates, causing 50% mortality in the shortest time, followed by LdMNPV-H and LdMNPV-D. Rainfall immediately after the application of LdMNPV-D in 2005 resulted in significantly reduced gypsy moth larval mortality.