The objective of this research was to provide information about the presence of the entomopathogenic fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum. Isolates were obtained from three different regions of Balakot.
With the objective of discovering ectomycorrhizal association strains from C. deodara rhizospheres, a study was carried out in 2019 at Thandiani Forest in Abbottabad, Pakistan. As a result, six new fungal strains were identified ACE4, ACE2, ACE3, ACE5, ACE1 and ACE6 of the Talaromyces pinophilus, Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Purpureocillium lilacinum, Emmia latemar ginata, and T. pinophilus strains, respectively. Both areas reported P. lilacinum since the atmospheric conditions in this region are similar to those in the current research area, including temperature and sampling technique (Jamil et al., 2020), and this is the first report on P. lilacinum from the nothren area of Pakistan. Othere province, such as Pujab, also reported this in the past. In the present study, the EPF P. lilacinum was identified and isolated from a soil sample. Previous studies have shown that a certain fungus has the potential to control various insect pests that damage vegetables (Du et al., 2021). However, until now, there was no record of this fungus being isolated from soil in Pakistan and surrounding areas. Identification and isolation of different fungal strains are primary and essential stages in developing the mycoinsecticide or biocontrol agent to control the pests (Dayanti et al., 2018). In a recent study, scientists collected over 25,000 insect samples from various districts in Punjab and found four different types of fungi that can kill insects: L. attenuatum, P. lilacinum, M. anisopliae, and B. bassiana. Interestingly, the geographical locations of the sampled areas also influenced the distribution of these sampled fungi, with P. lilacinum and L. attenuatum being relatively rare (Wakil et al., 2014). In another study conducted by researchers at 12 different localities in Punjab province, which cover almost all the province, a over all 210 soil samples were gathered from the following four various habitats: crop-filled, vegetable and fruit fields, and forest soil. Most of the entomopatohganic fungi are reported from forest habitats as compared to other habitats, and the galleria bait method was used to isolate fungi. Out of 210 soil samples, only 168 fungal isolates were retrieved and identified. Notably, eight of these isolates came from fruit soil samples, thirty-two from vegetable fields, ninety from forest soil, and thirty from crop fields. The major entomopathogenic fungi identified among these samples included Lecanicillium attenuatum (4.55%), P. chlamydosporia (9.09%), B. brongniartii (9.09%), Paecilomyces lilacinus (18.18%), Metarhizium anisopliae (22.73%), and Beauveria bassiana (36.6%). P. lilacinus was isolated from the forest soil, crops, and vegetable fields of Muree, which has nearly the same climatic conditions as the Balakot Tehsile region, and it was the primary study to report the diversity of EPFs and report P. lilacinus as a side product. They identified P. lilacinus only on the basis of morphology and did not use any moleculer anylsis for identification (Wakil et al., 2013). The same temperate continental climate as the Balakot Tehsil was found in another study conducted in Qinling Mountain, Shaanxi Province, China. However, the climate in the Qinling Mountains varies due to factors like altitude and geographical location within the range. During this investigation, they isolated Purpureocillium lilacinum from soil samples in the region. They identified this fungus by analyzing the ITS region of rDNA using universal primers specifically designed for ITS region amplification, which were also used in the present research (Lan et al., 2017).