To increase our knowledge on the susceptibility of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) species to agrochemicals, the
compatibility of the infective juveniles (IJ) of the entomopathogenic nematodes
Steinernema feltiae
,
S. carpocapsae
, and
Heterorhabditis downesi
with 15 chemical fungicides was investigated under laboratory conditions. The effect of direct
IJ exposure to fungicides for 24 h was tested in a petri dish at 15, 20, and 25 ºC. The results showed that the compatibility
of
S. feltiae with azoxystrobin was high, and similar findings were obtained for
S. carpocapsae (strain C67) and all of
the tested fungicides, except for tebuconazole + spiroxamine + triadimenol, maneb, dinocap, and copper (II) hydroxide +
metalaxil-M. Nematode
H. downesi (strain 3173) suffered the highest mortality rate when infective juveniles were mixed
with tebuconazole + spiroxamine + triadimenol. The integration of the aforementioned agents into a pest management
program is also discussed.
