Preliminary Screening of Water Fungi as Larvicidal Agents Against Aedes Aegypti (3rd Instar)

Abstract

Species of Apodachlya, Lagenidium, Thraustotheca, Saprolegnia, Achlya, Dictyuchus and Aphanomyces belonging to Class Oomycetes and Monoblepharella, Allomyces and Coelomomyces of Class Chytridiomycetes were isolated, identified and tested for larvicidal activity on third instar Aedes aegypti larvae. Sorghum seeds were used as the nutrient source to ensure the survival of the fungi. The larvicidal activity of the water fungi were determined by one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Among 10 isolated water fungi species, Apodachlya sp., Lagenidium sp., Monoblepharella sp., Allomyces sp. and Thraustotheca sp. were found to have significant larvicidal effects against Aedes aegypti. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to determine whether zoospore count has an effect on the mortality of the larvae. Results indicated that there is an almost near to zero or minimal correlation between the two variables and that only a small percentage of larval mortality was influenced by zoospore count. This meant that the type of species of fungi applied to the larvae of Aedes aegypti determine the degree of mortality values.