Marwa Genena

Controlling of Land Snails and Slugs: Biological Control of Land Snails and Slugs Marwa Genena

Land snails and slugs are important pests for a wide range of fruit orchards, ornamental plants, vegetables and field crops all over the world. They tend to feed on the softer parts of plants causing feeding damage to plant seedlings, with irregular holes in leaves, roots, tubers and fruits, decrease yield or cause loss of quality due to the presence of slugs or snails or their feces in the harvested product. Biological control of the land snails and slugs using bacteria or nematode is an alternative method of pesticides.(Bt) is a gram- negative soil bacterium, which produces crystalline spores and toxic chemicals to pests. Recently, it became one of the biological control agents against several insect pests. The rhabditid nematode, Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita is a parasite capable of killing several pest species of slugs and snails. In Egypt, P. hermaphrodita has been recovered for the first time in two districts, Aga and Mansoura at Dakahlia governorate(Genena,2003). Therefore the present study was conducted to assess the potential of the native biocontrol agents,(Bt) and P. hermaphrodita for the control of pest land snails and slugs in Egypt.