<![CDATA[Endophytic fungi hold considerable potential as biological control agents, yet their exploration from pineapple plants cultivated on peatlands remains limited. This study aimed to identify the diversity of endophytic fungi associated with pineapple (Ananas comosus) grown in Kualu Nenas, Riau, and to evaluate their entomopathogenic activity against the pineapple mealybug, Dysmicoccus brevipes. Endophytic fungi were isolated from leaf sheaths and roots of 1-year-old and 15-year-old pineapple plants. A total of 24 fungal isolates were obtained and morphologically identified into five genera: Beauveria sp., Metarhizium sp., Trichoderma sp., Fusarium sp., and Aspergillus sp. Preliminary pathogenicity screening against Tenebrio molitor larvae showed that 7 of the 24 isolates exhibited entomopathogenic activity, causing 33.33–100% mortality. Five isolates that caused >50% mortality were further evaluated against second-instar D. brevipes nymphs using a conidial suspension of 1 × 10⁸ conidia/ml. Among these isolates, Beauveria sp. KN1-D27 showed the highest virulence, causing 82% mortality at 10 days after treatment, with the shortest LT₅₀ of 6.4 days. This was followed by Metarhizium sp. KN1-A09, which caused 71% mortality with an LT₅₀ of 7.2 days, and Beauveria sp. KN15-D15, which caused 66% mortality with an LT₅₀ of 7.8 days. In contrast, Trichoderma sp. and Fusarium sp. showed lower efficacy. These findings indicate that Beauveria sp. KN1-D27 has potential as a biological control candidate against D. brevipes on peatland pineapple.]]>
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