Occurrence and virulence of a granulosis virus in Phthorimaea operculella (Lep., Gelechiidae) populations in Indonesia

Indonesian potato growers face increasing problems from Phthorimaea opercul ella, whose larvae are responsible for damage in potato tubers, Use of biol ogical control agents, and specifically entomopathogenic micro-organisms, c ould be an alternative method to chemical control. From this perspective, w e carried out a screening and an evaluation of local granuloviruses which a re naturally present in Indonesian pest populations, The use of an enzyme-l inked immunosorbent assay allowed us to isolate three granulovirus strains from P. operculella larvae collected from three different locations in Indo nesia: Wonsosobo (Central Java), Lembang (West Java), and Berastagi (Northe rn Sumatra). Bioassays did not reveal significant differences in the biolog ical properties (LC50 and ST50) Of these strains, The restriction pattern o f the viral genome (Wonsosobo strain) presented only minor variations compa red to other isolates collected in different regions of the world. (C) 1999 Academic Press.