Screening and evaluation of acaropathogenic fungi against the bulb mite Rhizoglyphus robini

[Display omitted] •Fungal isolates effective in controlling bulb mites (Rhizoglyphus robini) were screened.•The selected fungal isolates have high virulence and thermotolerance.•Three Metarhizium anisopliae were determined to be the most suitable for bulb mite control. Bulb mites (Rhizoglyphus robini) damage the bulbs, corns, and tubers of garlic, shallots, and onions. Bulb mites have recently become a serious problem because of the continuous use of acaricides, which has resulted in resistance among bulb mite populations. Thus, there is a need to find alternative control methods to suppress bulb mite populations. Here, we report the results of screening pathogenic fungi for the control of R. robini. The initial screen was performed using 342 isolates of entomopathogenic fungi from soils from South Korea. As a result, 57 isolates of putative acaropathogenic fungi were selected from cadavers of bulb mites supporting fungal sporulation. However, 11 isolates were finally selected for further study through a re-evaluation of the pathogenicity of the isolates. These isolates were identified as two isolates of Metarhizium pemphigi, two isolates of Metarhizium pingshaense, and seven isolates of Metarhizium anisopliae by a microscopic examination and sequence analysis of the ITS region and EF-1α gene. The virulence, thermotolerance and UV-B tolerance of the 11 isolates were further evaluated and compared. Eight isolates showed more than 80% mortality and three isolates showed 100% mortality at 7 days after treatment. The thermotolerance of conidia showed a large difference depending on the fungal isolate, and five isolates showed a conidial germination rate of approximately 60% or more even after 2 h of heat treatment. On the other hand, the UV-B tolerance was very low in all the isolates, and only one isolate showed more than approximately 80% tolerance to 0.1 J cm−2, but the other isolates showed a conidial germination rate of less than 30%. Based on all of the above results, three isolates, M. anisopliae 4–3-2, 4–8-1, and 4–31-2, were the most effective isolates in controlling bulb mites and could be considered promising biological control agents against bulb mites.