Effect of Till and No-Till Soybean Cultivation on Dynamics of Entomopathogenic Fungi in the Soil

Several species of phytophagous insects are attacked by entomopathogenic fungi of the Moniliacea family. In soybean agroecosystems, the most prevalent fungi are Nomuraea rileyi (Farlow) Samson which infect caterpillars, and Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuill. which attacks chrysomelids such as Diabrotica speciosa (Germar), Cerotoma arcuata (Olivier), Colaspis spp. and curculionids, such as Aracanthus spp. Other fungal species of lesser prevalence associated with soybean insects include Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.) Sorok., which is found on Phyllophaga cuyabana (Moser) and other Scarabaeidae; Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize) Brown & Smith which cause epizootics in populations of Lagria villosa Fabr. (Coleoptera: Lagriidae); and another species of Paecilomyces, probably tenuipes , which occurs at low levels in the wet season on Anticarsia gemmatalis Hubner, Chrysodeixis includens (Walker)