Integrated Biological Control of the Sugar Beet Weevil with the Fungus : New Application Approaches.

The mass occurrence of the sugar beet weevil (Asproparthenis punctiventris, previously Bothynoderes punctiventris) has been endangering sugar beet cultivation in Austria for centuries. Exacerbated by climatic and political changes (warmer, drier spring and limited access to chemical pesticides), new approaches are needed to counter the problem. The aim of our work was to test whether the bioinsecticide Metarhizium brunneum Ma 43 (formerly M.