Introduction Various entomopathogenic fungi such as Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimmermann), Beauveria bassiana (Bals), Nomuraea rileyi (Farlow), and Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschn), have been effectively used to control aphids, mealy bugs, whitflies, lepidopteron larvae, root grubs and other pests. The formulation is mandatory in order to enhance spore application and efficacy. The type of formulation ultimately selected depends on the biology and physical properties of the pathogen and the location and habitats of the target pest. In formulation, priority is the retention of viability and virulence of the infective units during storage and application. The entomopathogenic fungi L. lecanii is unable to cause epizootics under low relative humidity conditions with higher temperature. In combating this problem development of suitable formulation plays an important role. A good formulation helps in preserving organisms, delivering them to their target insect and to improve their activities. All these aspects in the process of exploring formulations of L. lecanii as a cost effective and ecofriendly tool in pest management of different pests. . Objective  To study the bio-efficacy of developed formulations against sucking pests under laboratory condition. “Development of liquid based formulations of Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimmermann) IOF 1 strain (KM215209) against sucking pests” SHARANABASAPPA, M. G. AND PATIL, R. K. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENTOMOLOGY COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE, DHARWAD – 580 005 Material and Methods Preparation of oil based formulations: Freshly harvested L. lecanii 4 g (1.7 x 10 9 spores/ g) of dry Conidia obtained from broken rice was mixed with 20 ml of respective oils (rice bran oil alone, rice bran (60 %) + corn oil (40 %) and Olive oil) and 20 ml of glycerol, homogenized by using vertical mixture for proper encapsulation of spores and mixed with distilled water 956 ml, 0.1% of tween-80 was added and make it volume 1000 ml stored in cool places in a plastic containers for further study. Oil based formulations: 1. Rice bran oil formulation - 20 ml Rice bran oil + 20 ml glycerol + 4 g dry conidia (from mass multiplied on broken rice) + 956 ml distilled water. 2. Rice bran (60%) + Corn oil (40%) formulation - 20 ml Rice bran + corn oil + 20 ml glycerol + 4 g dry conidia (from mass multiplied on broken rice) + 956 ml distilled water. 3. Olive oil formulation - 20 ml olive oil + 20 ml glycerol + 4 g dry conidia (from mass multiplied on broken rice) + 956 ml distilled water.  Treatment details: Efficacy of liquid formulation of L. lecanii against sucking insect pests under laboratory conditions. Laboratory experiments were carried out to find the efficacy of liquid based formulations of L. lecanii against sucking insect pests in the Entomology laboratory, Institute of Organic Farming (IOF), UAS, Dharwad during 2014-15. The insects for the bioassay studies were collected from the field. The different doses of formulations were mixed with distilled water and 0.1 % tween- 80 were added. The sucking pests viz., mealy bugs, cotton thrips, soybean mite, maize aphids and Guava spiralling whitefly were released into petriplate containing blotting paper. 1 ml of each dose was applied on the test insect by using potter’s tower spray and kept them in the environmental chamber (26 ± 1 o C temperature and 80 ± 5% RH) for mortality. For the control distilled water sprayed alone. The experiment was carried out with CRD design and replicated thrice observation has taken every day interval up to five days. The data obtained are subject to probit analysis. Results and discussion Data on efficacy of liquid and wettable powder formulations of L. lecanii were tested against sucking pests at 120 h (5 days) after treatment are presented in Table 1. The comparison of median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) of L. lecanii oil based formulation of Rice bran oil (60 %) + Corn oil (40%) was found to be more virulent to the sucking pests viz., corn aphid (0.182 x10 6 cfu/ml), grape wine mealybug (0.560 x 10 6 (cfu/ml), cotton thrips (0.591 x 10 6 cfu/ml) and guava whitefly (0.942 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) followed by olive oil and rice bran oil formulation. The olive oil based formulation of L. Lecanii was found most effective against soybean mite with the LC 50 value of 0.674 x 10 6 cfu/ml followed by rice bran oil and Rice bran oil (60 %) + Corn oil (40%) formulation. The Wettable powder formulation (as a standard check) was found best against corn aphids (0.261 x10 8 cfu/g), grape vine mealy bug (0.740 x 10 8 cfu/g), cotton thrips (1.019 x 10 8 cfu/g), guava whitefly (1.757 x 10 8 cfu/g) and soy bean mite (0.917 x 10 8 cfu/g) when comparing with the liquid based formulations. These present findings are corraborated with the finding of many workers, Asi, et al., 2009 who reported that the fungal isolate V. lecanii (V17), with LC 50 of 1.88 × 10 6 conidia/ml was considered the most virulent isolate against the aphid. Similarly, Saranya et al., (2010) reported the lowest LC 50 value of 2.5 × 10 4 spores/ml by L. lecanii against cowpea aphid when tested under laboratory conditions (Fig., 1). Summary The different doses of L. lecanii oil based and wettable powder formulation (standard check) tested against different sucking pests viz., corn aphids, soybean mite, guava spiralling whitefly, grape vine mealy bug and cotton thrips at 120 h (5 day) after treatment. Among three different oil based formulations the Rice bran oil (60 %) + Corn oil (40%) formulation more effective on corn aphid, guava spiralling whitefly, grape vine mealy bug and cotton thrips. The olive oil formulation was found more effective on soybean mite. References Asi, M. R. , Bashir, M. H., Afzal, M. and Imran, S., 2009, Effect of Conidial Concentration of Entomopathogenic Fungi on Mortality of Cabbage Aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae L. Pak. j. life soc. sci., (2): 175-180. Saranya, S. R., Ushakumari, S. J. and Philip, B. M., 2010, “Efficacy of different entomopathogenic fungi against cowpea aphid, Aphis craccivora (Koch),” Journal of Biopesticides, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 138–142. Advisory committee : Chairperson : Dr. R. K. Patil Members : Dr. S. Lingaraju Dr. C. R. Patil Treatment details Liquid based formulations Dosage (ml/ lit of water) T 1 - Rice bran oil alone 1.0 1.5 2.00 2.50 3.00 T 2 - Rice bran (60%) + corn oil (40%) 1.0 1.5 2.00 2.50 3.00 T 3 - Olive oil 1.0 1.5 2.00 2.50 3.00 T 4 - WP(Std. Check) 2 g/lit T 4 - Control Distilled water spray Formulat ions Corn Aphid Grape vine Mealy Bug Cotton Thrips Gauva Whitefly Soybean Mite Rice bran oil 0.316 x10 6 (cfu/ml) 1.287 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 1.068 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 1.530 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 0.744 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) Rice bran (60 %) + Corn oil (40%) 0.182 x10 6 (cfu/ml) 0.560 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 0.591 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 0.942 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 0.901 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) Olive oil 0.266 x10 6 (cfu/ml) 0.903 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 0.751 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 1.283 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) 0.674 x 10 6 (cfu/ml) WP (Std. Check) 0.261 x10 8 (cfu/g) 0.740 x 10 8 (cfu/g) 1.019 x 10 8 (cfu/g) 1.757 x 10 8 (cfu/g) 0.917 x 10 8 (cfu/g) 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2 Rice bran oil Rice bran (60 %) + Corn oil (40%) Olive oil WP (Std. Check) Corn Aphid Grape vine Mealy Bug Cotton Thrips Gauva Whitefly Soybean Mite 10 8 Cfu/ml Fig 1: Comparisons of median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) different oil based formulations of L. lecanii against sucking pests under laboratory condition. Table 1: Comparisons of median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) different oil based formulations of L. lecanii against sucking pests under laboratory condition. 10 6 Cfu/ml