Date Received: 29-10-2011 / Date Accepted: 17-02-2012 / Date Published: 13-06-2025
Since 2009 up to date, over 7,000 specimens of coffee scale insect infected with mycopathogens in three provinces in the Central Highland, i.e. Dak Lak, Dak Nong, and Gia Lai were collected, among these 360 specimens were selected for isolation. 25 strains of insect fungi were identified based on morphological and molecular characteristics and 6 parasitic species were identified including: Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, Cephalosporium lanoso-niveum, Cordyceps nutans; Toxicocladosporium sp., and Paecilomyces cicadae. Virulence test by in vitro evaluation of extracellular enzyme activities showed that 8 strains as MR3, MR4, MR8, MR9, BR5, BR11, BR13 and BR16. These strains showed high potential for mass product to control scale insect on coffee. The optimal temperature for growth and development of these strains ranged from 25 to 280C. At 300C fungal strains of BR2, BR4, BR7, BR10, BR11, BR13, and BR16 can grow well. The best substrate for mass product of these strains was rice. Application of bio-products under laboratory condition showed that highest control efficacy was 77.78% with strain BR5, followed by 74.45% with strain MR4.