Determinant factors in the production of a co-occluded binary mixture of Helicoverpa armigera Alphabaculovirus (HearNPV) genotypes with desirable insecticidal characteristics

A co-occluded binary mixture of Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus genotypes HearSP1B and HearLB6 at a 1:1 ratio (HearSP1B+HearLB6) was selected for the development of a virus-based biological insecticide, which requires an efficient large-scale production system. In vivo production systems require optimization studies in each host-virus pathosystem. In the present study, the effects of larval instar, rearing density, timing of inoculation, inoculum concentration and temperature on the production of HearSP1B+HearLB6 in its homologous host were evaluated. The high prevalence of cannibalism in infected larvae (40-87%) indicated that insects require individual rearing to avoid major losses in OB production. The OB production of recently molted fifth instars (7.0 x 10 OBs/larva), combined with a high prevalence of mortality (85.7%), resulted in the highest overall OB yield (6.0 x 10 OBs/100 inoculated larvae), compared to those of third or fourth instars. However, as inoculum concentration did not influence final OB yield, the lowest concentration, LC (5.5 x 10 OBs/ml), was selected. Incubation temperature did not significantly influence OB yield, although larvae maintained at 30°C died 13 and 34 hours earlier than those incubated at 26°C and 23°C, respectively. We conclude that the efficient production of HearSP1B+HearLB6 OBs involves inoculation of recently molted fifth instars with a LC concentration of OBs followed by individual rearing at 30°C.This study received financial support from the Gobierno de Navarra (Project IIQ14065:RI1). M.A. received a predoctoral fellowship from CSIC.Peer Reviewe