Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2275116
Jeffrey D. Cluever, Clint W. Beiermann, Nevin C. Lawrence, Jeffrey D. Bradshaw
Trichogramma spp. have been used or have been proposed for use in biological control programmes of lepidopteran pests, including the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, and the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana. Releases are typically made by placing cards with parasitised eggs at set points in the field. However, this method can be cost-prohibitive due to its laborious nature. As a result, labour-saving mechanised release programmes have been developed, including distribution by spray equipment. However, few have investigated applying Trichogramma with a standard pesticide application (i.e. ‘tank mix’). As a first step to ascertain the feasibility of such a system, we observed the effect of immersion of T. ostriniae pupae in field-relevant concentrations of eight herbicides (bentazon, clethodim, fomesafen, quizalofop, Glacial acetic acid, glyphosate, imazamox, imazethapyr), three fungicides (Copper Hydroxide, flutriafol, and penthiopyrad), one insecticide (K+ salt of fatty acid), and five adjuvants (Ammonium Sulfate, Crop Oil Concentrate, Methylated seed oil, Non-ionic surfactant, and Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) on the emergence of T. ostriniae adults. The herbicides GAA and clethodim; the fungicides copper hydroxide, flutriafol, and penthiopyrad; and the adjuvants COC, MSO, and NIS all reduced T. ostriniae emergence compared to a water control. No emergence was observed with exposure to quizalofop, GAA, or K+ salt of fatty acid treatments. Other treatments did not affect emergence compared to water. Thus, deploying Trichogramma with a standard pesticide application may be a feasible labour-saving distribution method that warrants further investigation.
{"title":"Assessing the toxicity of selected pesticides to <i>Trichogramma ostriniae</i> (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) pupae as a first step in the development of a potential novel deployment programme","authors":"Jeffrey D. Cluever, Clint W. Beiermann, Nevin C. Lawrence, Jeffrey D. Bradshaw","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2275116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2275116","url":null,"abstract":"Trichogramma spp. have been used or have been proposed for use in biological control programmes of lepidopteran pests, including the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis, the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, and the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana. Releases are typically made by placing cards with parasitised eggs at set points in the field. However, this method can be cost-prohibitive due to its laborious nature. As a result, labour-saving mechanised release programmes have been developed, including distribution by spray equipment. However, few have investigated applying Trichogramma with a standard pesticide application (i.e. ‘tank mix’). As a first step to ascertain the feasibility of such a system, we observed the effect of immersion of T. ostriniae pupae in field-relevant concentrations of eight herbicides (bentazon, clethodim, fomesafen, quizalofop, Glacial acetic acid, glyphosate, imazamox, imazethapyr), three fungicides (Copper Hydroxide, flutriafol, and penthiopyrad), one insecticide (K+ salt of fatty acid), and five adjuvants (Ammonium Sulfate, Crop Oil Concentrate, Methylated seed oil, Non-ionic surfactant, and Urea-Ammonium Nitrate) on the emergence of T. ostriniae adults. The herbicides GAA and clethodim; the fungicides copper hydroxide, flutriafol, and penthiopyrad; and the adjuvants COC, MSO, and NIS all reduced T. ostriniae emergence compared to a water control. No emergence was observed with exposure to quizalofop, GAA, or K+ salt of fatty acid treatments. Other treatments did not affect emergence compared to water. Thus, deploying Trichogramma with a standard pesticide application may be a feasible labour-saving distribution method that warrants further investigation.","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"109 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135373247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-11-01DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2277652
Dalia Adly, Halima Mahmoud Ibrahim, Abd El-Hamed Mohamed Salleh
ABSTRACTThe Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia, is a significant pest for grain crops worldwide. Bioagents such as the parasitoid, Aphidius colemani and the predator, Coccinella undecimpunctata have been shown to be effective against many aphid species. This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of releasing these two bioagents on controlling D. noxia without using pesticides. To achieve this, three systems of release were evaluated in the field: (1) the parasitoid A. colemani at rate of 4 mummies/m2, (2) the predator C. undecimpunctata at rate of 10 individuals (3rd larval instar)/m2, and (3) A. colemani (4 mummies/m2) + C. undecimpunctata (10 individuals/m2) and control. After four releases, the combination of A. colemani and C. undecimpunctata resulted in the highest percentage of reduction in aphid population, with a reduction of 95.58, 95.53% in 2020 and 2021, followed by 86.94, 83.92% in A. colemani plots and the lowest reduction percentage in C. undecimpunctata plots, with 65.1, 68.92%, in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Based on these results, it is recommended to use the combination of the two bioagents, A. colemani and C. undecimpunctata for controlling D. noxia in a wheat field. Therefore, the use of a combination of natural enemies, carefully timed and repeated releases, and consideration of intraguild predation dynamics can help to achieve effective biological control of aphids in wheat crops. The use of natural enemies such as A. colemani and C. undecimpunctata can reduce the application of pesticides and promote sustainable pest management practices.KEYWORDS: Aphidparasitoidpredatorcombinationrelease Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
{"title":"Synergistic effects of <i>Aphidius colemani</i> (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) and <i>Coccinella undecimpunctata</i> (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) releases for the biological control of <i>Diuraphis noxia</i> in wheat fields","authors":"Dalia Adly, Halima Mahmoud Ibrahim, Abd El-Hamed Mohamed Salleh","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2277652","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2277652","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThe Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia, is a significant pest for grain crops worldwide. Bioagents such as the parasitoid, Aphidius colemani and the predator, Coccinella undecimpunctata have been shown to be effective against many aphid species. This study aimed to investigate the combined effect of releasing these two bioagents on controlling D. noxia without using pesticides. To achieve this, three systems of release were evaluated in the field: (1) the parasitoid A. colemani at rate of 4 mummies/m2, (2) the predator C. undecimpunctata at rate of 10 individuals (3rd larval instar)/m2, and (3) A. colemani (4 mummies/m2) + C. undecimpunctata (10 individuals/m2) and control. After four releases, the combination of A. colemani and C. undecimpunctata resulted in the highest percentage of reduction in aphid population, with a reduction of 95.58, 95.53% in 2020 and 2021, followed by 86.94, 83.92% in A. colemani plots and the lowest reduction percentage in C. undecimpunctata plots, with 65.1, 68.92%, in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Based on these results, it is recommended to use the combination of the two bioagents, A. colemani and C. undecimpunctata for controlling D. noxia in a wheat field. Therefore, the use of a combination of natural enemies, carefully timed and repeated releases, and consideration of intraguild predation dynamics can help to achieve effective biological control of aphids in wheat crops. The use of natural enemies such as A. colemani and C. undecimpunctata can reduce the application of pesticides and promote sustainable pest management practices.KEYWORDS: Aphidparasitoidpredatorcombinationrelease Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"192 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135371814","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-30DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2275114
Guy F. Sutton, Michael D. Day, Kim Canavan, Iain D. Paterson
ABSTRACTThe specialisation-disturbance hypothesis (SDH) predicts that specialist and generalist taxa respond differently to disturbance, with generalists more tolerant of disturbance, while habitat stability (i.e. no/limited disturbance) should favour specialist species. If the SDH holds true, this would have implications for the design and implementation of biological control programmes, in terms of performing native-range surveys in search of candidate agents and subsequent development of management programmes for their release in the weeds invaded range. We assessed the effect of anthropogenic disturbance (mowing/slashing and fire) on the endophagous insect communities associated with two African grasses, Sporobolus pyramidalis and Sporobolus natalensis (Poaceae), that are targets for biological control in Australia. Comparisons, of insect community structure and presence/abundance of each species between disturbed and undisturbed sites, were made at 19 sites in South Africa. Disturbance caused a shift in insect species composition and abundance, whereby specialist insects were less frequently encountered and less abundant at disturbed versus undisturbed sites. If the potential agents for Sporobolus spp. are released in Australia they may be negatively affected by disturbance and may therefore be incompatible with certain integrated management strategies, such as mowing and prescribed burning. Moreover, our results suggest that field sites with limited disturbance should be prioritised during native-range surveys to maximise the chances of locating specialist natural enemies. The effect disturbance has on insect community composition may be particularly relevant for the biological control of invasive grasses, due to the intensity of disturbance of grasslands worldwide.KEYWORDS: Mowingnative-range surveysPoaceaespecialisation-disturbance hypothesisSporobolusTetramesa AcknowledgementsWe thank Pippa Muskett for invaluable assistance in the field and Clarke van Steenderen for assisting with lab work. Funding was provided by AgriFutures Australia, the Australian Government under their Rural Research and Development for Profit programme and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Part of the funding for this work was provided by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. Any opinion, finding, conclusion or recommendation expressed in this material is that of the authors and the NRF does not accept any liability in this regard. Funding was also provided by the Working for Water (WfW) programme of the Department of Environmental Affairs: Natural Resource Management programme (DEA: NRM). Rhodes University is thanked for logistical support.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by Agrifutures Australia, the Australian Government under their Ru
{"title":"Anthropogenic disturbance affects specialist, but not generalist, endophagous insects associated with two African grasses: implications for biological control","authors":"Guy F. Sutton, Michael D. Day, Kim Canavan, Iain D. Paterson","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2275114","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2275114","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThe specialisation-disturbance hypothesis (SDH) predicts that specialist and generalist taxa respond differently to disturbance, with generalists more tolerant of disturbance, while habitat stability (i.e. no/limited disturbance) should favour specialist species. If the SDH holds true, this would have implications for the design and implementation of biological control programmes, in terms of performing native-range surveys in search of candidate agents and subsequent development of management programmes for their release in the weeds invaded range. We assessed the effect of anthropogenic disturbance (mowing/slashing and fire) on the endophagous insect communities associated with two African grasses, Sporobolus pyramidalis and Sporobolus natalensis (Poaceae), that are targets for biological control in Australia. Comparisons, of insect community structure and presence/abundance of each species between disturbed and undisturbed sites, were made at 19 sites in South Africa. Disturbance caused a shift in insect species composition and abundance, whereby specialist insects were less frequently encountered and less abundant at disturbed versus undisturbed sites. If the potential agents for Sporobolus spp. are released in Australia they may be negatively affected by disturbance and may therefore be incompatible with certain integrated management strategies, such as mowing and prescribed burning. Moreover, our results suggest that field sites with limited disturbance should be prioritised during native-range surveys to maximise the chances of locating specialist natural enemies. The effect disturbance has on insect community composition may be particularly relevant for the biological control of invasive grasses, due to the intensity of disturbance of grasslands worldwide.KEYWORDS: Mowingnative-range surveysPoaceaespecialisation-disturbance hypothesisSporobolusTetramesa AcknowledgementsWe thank Pippa Muskett for invaluable assistance in the field and Clarke van Steenderen for assisting with lab work. Funding was provided by AgriFutures Australia, the Australian Government under their Rural Research and Development for Profit programme and the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries. Part of the funding for this work was provided by the South African Research Chairs Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation of South Africa. Any opinion, finding, conclusion or recommendation expressed in this material is that of the authors and the NRF does not accept any liability in this regard. Funding was also provided by the Working for Water (WfW) programme of the Department of Environmental Affairs: Natural Resource Management programme (DEA: NRM). Rhodes University is thanked for logistical support.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by Agrifutures Australia, the Australian Government under their Ru","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"55 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136069310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-26DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2275117
Bruno Schulze, D. Gomez, J. B. Posadas
ABSTRACT We evaluated culture conditions (temperature, substrate moisture content, agitation and light conditions) for optimising conidia production of Escovopsis weberi Ew1 using solid state culture. In addition, several substrates such as agricultural waste and food industry by-products were evaluated with the aim of reducing spore production costs in a strategic way towards circular bioeconomy. Finally, we selected substrate combinations in order to achieve a suitable system for the production of conidia.
{"title":"Solid state culture conditions for improved conidial production of the mycoparasitic fungus <i>Escovopsis weberi</i>","authors":"Bruno Schulze, D. Gomez, J. B. Posadas","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2275117","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2275117","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT We evaluated culture conditions (temperature, substrate moisture content, agitation and light conditions) for optimising conidia production of Escovopsis weberi Ew1 using solid state culture. In addition, several substrates such as agricultural waste and food industry by-products were evaluated with the aim of reducing spore production costs in a strategic way towards circular bioeconomy. Finally, we selected substrate combinations in order to achieve a suitable system for the production of conidia.","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"31 3","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134907041","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-24DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2272229
Ashley B. C. Goode, Philip W. Tipping, F. Allen Dray, Ryann J. Valmonte, Brittany K. Knowles, Eileen Pokorny
ABSTRACTPistia stratiotes L. is an invasive floating plant that alters native habitats in Florida by forming thick mats that shade out submerged vegetation and obstruct navigation. Multiple genotypes of this plant have been identified from locations across its native and adventive ranges including types from throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Asia, and Australia. We investigated the performance of a known monophagous insect, Lepidelphax pistiae, on nine P. stratiotes haplotypes (from four clades) in no-choice experiments and found that while L. pistiae performance varied on different haplotypes, there was considerable overlap in fitness and impact among haplotypes. Lepidelphax pistiae did not distinguish between purported ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ haplotypes and did not perform better or cause more damage to South American haplotypes specifically, which would have supported its utility as a biocontrol agent on the exotic haplotypes found in Florida. While L. pistiae is monophagous on P. stratiotes, it was not specific enough to differentiate consistently among the tested haplotypes and thus, may not be suitable as a biological control agent because of the potential threat they pose to native haplotypes of P. stratiotes in Florida.KEYWORDS: Pistia stratiotesLepidelphax pistiaewaterlettucebiological control agenthaplotypes AcknowledgementsThe authors thank Scott Goldstein at the Invasive Plant Research Laboratory for his assistance with this experiment. The authors acknowledge the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute for allowing this work to be completed. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, ABCG, upon reasonable request.
{"title":"Effects of invasive plant haplotypes on a biological control agent ( <i>Lepidelphax pistiae</i> ) fecundity and impact","authors":"Ashley B. C. Goode, Philip W. Tipping, F. Allen Dray, Ryann J. Valmonte, Brittany K. Knowles, Eileen Pokorny","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2272229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2272229","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTPistia stratiotes L. is an invasive floating plant that alters native habitats in Florida by forming thick mats that shade out submerged vegetation and obstruct navigation. Multiple genotypes of this plant have been identified from locations across its native and adventive ranges including types from throughout the Americas, the Caribbean, Asia, and Australia. We investigated the performance of a known monophagous insect, Lepidelphax pistiae, on nine P. stratiotes haplotypes (from four clades) in no-choice experiments and found that while L. pistiae performance varied on different haplotypes, there was considerable overlap in fitness and impact among haplotypes. Lepidelphax pistiae did not distinguish between purported ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ haplotypes and did not perform better or cause more damage to South American haplotypes specifically, which would have supported its utility as a biocontrol agent on the exotic haplotypes found in Florida. While L. pistiae is monophagous on P. stratiotes, it was not specific enough to differentiate consistently among the tested haplotypes and thus, may not be suitable as a biological control agent because of the potential threat they pose to native haplotypes of P. stratiotes in Florida.KEYWORDS: Pistia stratiotesLepidelphax pistiaewaterlettucebiological control agenthaplotypes AcknowledgementsThe authors thank Scott Goldstein at the Invasive Plant Research Laboratory for his assistance with this experiment. The authors acknowledge the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute for allowing this work to be completed. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, ABCG, upon reasonable request.","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"17 2","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135315528","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-18DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2269488
Chiara Ferracini, Cristina Pogolotti, Monica Vercelli, Eleonora Vittoria Fontana, Valerio Saitta, Serena Gallizia, Ivan Rollet
ABSTRACTInvestigations on the egg parasitoid complex of the pine processionary moth (PPM), Thaumetopoea pityocampa, were performed in 2020-2022 in seven sites located in NW Italy to determine the parasitoid species composition, seasonal emergence, parasitoid species incidence, and parasitism rate. Furthermore, we examined whether the egg batches parameters and the parasitism rate were influenced by altitude and summer temperatures. A sample of 832 egg batches was collected, each batch consisting on average of 206 ± 5.73 eggs. In total, 35,881 egg parasitoids emerged, mainly represented by four primary species, namely Ooencyrtus pityocampae, Baryscapus servadeii, Anastatus bifasciatus and Trichogramma sp.. Parasitism ranged from 4.27% to 24.41% and the most representative species were O. pityocampae (68.38%) in 2020-2021, and Trichogramma sp. (56.50%) in 2021-2022. The altitude of the sites (808-1303 m a.s.l.) had a negative correlation with all the investigated egg batches parameters (e.g. batch length), and with the parasitism rate by A. bifasciatus and B. servadeii, while a positive correlation was found only for O. pityocampae. The number of days with temperatures above 30°C was positively correlated with parasitism rate for A. bifasciatus and O. pityocampae, and negatively for Trichogramma sp., while no correlation was found with B. servadeii. Since the performance and distribution of the natural enemies is highly dependent on climatic conditions, the regulating effect of parasitoids, reducing PPM population needs to be further investigated, to compare the complex of natural enemies across a wider geographic and climatic range.KEYWORDS: Thaumetopoea pityocampaegg parasitismbiocontrolabiotic variablesPinus spp Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Compliance with ethical standardsAll the insect rearings, and experiments were conducted in accordance with the legislation and guidelines of the European Union for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/legislation_en.htm). All experimental protocols using insects were approved by the ad-hoc Committee of DISAFA of the University of Torino.Additional informationFundingThis project was partially funded by the ‘MONGEFITOFOR’ Project Interreg Cooperation Program Va ITA-CH 2014/2020 (ID 540693).
{"title":"Egg parasitoid complex of the pine processionary moth in NW Italy","authors":"Chiara Ferracini, Cristina Pogolotti, Monica Vercelli, Eleonora Vittoria Fontana, Valerio Saitta, Serena Gallizia, Ivan Rollet","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2269488","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2269488","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTInvestigations on the egg parasitoid complex of the pine processionary moth (PPM), Thaumetopoea pityocampa, were performed in 2020-2022 in seven sites located in NW Italy to determine the parasitoid species composition, seasonal emergence, parasitoid species incidence, and parasitism rate. Furthermore, we examined whether the egg batches parameters and the parasitism rate were influenced by altitude and summer temperatures. A sample of 832 egg batches was collected, each batch consisting on average of 206 ± 5.73 eggs. In total, 35,881 egg parasitoids emerged, mainly represented by four primary species, namely Ooencyrtus pityocampae, Baryscapus servadeii, Anastatus bifasciatus and Trichogramma sp.. Parasitism ranged from 4.27% to 24.41% and the most representative species were O. pityocampae (68.38%) in 2020-2021, and Trichogramma sp. (56.50%) in 2021-2022. The altitude of the sites (808-1303 m a.s.l.) had a negative correlation with all the investigated egg batches parameters (e.g. batch length), and with the parasitism rate by A. bifasciatus and B. servadeii, while a positive correlation was found only for O. pityocampae. The number of days with temperatures above 30°C was positively correlated with parasitism rate for A. bifasciatus and O. pityocampae, and negatively for Trichogramma sp., while no correlation was found with B. servadeii. Since the performance and distribution of the natural enemies is highly dependent on climatic conditions, the regulating effect of parasitoids, reducing PPM population needs to be further investigated, to compare the complex of natural enemies across a wider geographic and climatic range.KEYWORDS: Thaumetopoea pityocampaegg parasitismbiocontrolabiotic variablesPinus spp Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Compliance with ethical standardsAll the insect rearings, and experiments were conducted in accordance with the legislation and guidelines of the European Union for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes (http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/legislation_en.htm). All experimental protocols using insects were approved by the ad-hoc Committee of DISAFA of the University of Torino.Additional informationFundingThis project was partially funded by the ‘MONGEFITOFOR’ Project Interreg Cooperation Program Va ITA-CH 2014/2020 (ID 540693).","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"47 2 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135889940","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-10-17DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2269486
Asma Cherif, Ramzi Mansour, Kaouthar Grissa-Lebdi
ABSTRACTTuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is the most destructive pest of tomato worldwide. Biological control has always been considered as a promising management approach of this pest in tomatoes. In this context, we evaluated the effectiveness of releasing Trichogramma cacoeciae Marchal parasitoids or Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) predators in controlling T. absoluta in greenhouse tomatoes of northeastern Tunisia. Two weekly releases of either M. pygmaeus at 1 adult/m2 or T. cacoeciae at 20 adults/plant were assessed. Our results indicated that parasitism rates were significantly higher on the apical tomato leaves compared to the middle leaves. We found that the number of T. absoluta eggs and larvae was significantly reduced after releasing T. cacoeciae, while releases of M. pygmaeus did not significantly reduce T. absoluta densities. The present study demonstrated the great potential of releasing T. cacoeciae in controlling T. absoluta in greenhouse tomatoes of northeastern Tunisia. However, further studies are needed to evaluate other release rates of M. pygmaeus that could show promising effectiveness against T. absoluta in northeastern Tunisian greenhouses.KEYWORDS: Biocontrol agentegg parasitoidfield release ratelife stage densitymirid predatorSouth American tomato pinworm AcknowledgementsWe gratefully acknowledge the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT) for the financial support during this study. The authors also thank the farmers in all study sites for their valuable contribution to this work.Availability of data and materialsThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was funded by the European Union within the framework of the ENI Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Italy-Tunisia 2014–2020 - the INTEMAR project-IS_2.1_073 Innovations in the integrated control of insect pests and pathogens recently introduced on vegetable crops, grant number E64I18002460007.
{"title":"Biological control of <i>Tuta absoluta</i> through releases of <i>Trichogramma cacoeciae</i> parasitoids and <i>Macrolophus pygmaeus</i> predators in northeastern Tunisian greenhouses","authors":"Asma Cherif, Ramzi Mansour, Kaouthar Grissa-Lebdi","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2269486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2269486","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTTuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is the most destructive pest of tomato worldwide. Biological control has always been considered as a promising management approach of this pest in tomatoes. In this context, we evaluated the effectiveness of releasing Trichogramma cacoeciae Marchal parasitoids or Macrolophus pygmaeus (Rambur) predators in controlling T. absoluta in greenhouse tomatoes of northeastern Tunisia. Two weekly releases of either M. pygmaeus at 1 adult/m2 or T. cacoeciae at 20 adults/plant were assessed. Our results indicated that parasitism rates were significantly higher on the apical tomato leaves compared to the middle leaves. We found that the number of T. absoluta eggs and larvae was significantly reduced after releasing T. cacoeciae, while releases of M. pygmaeus did not significantly reduce T. absoluta densities. The present study demonstrated the great potential of releasing T. cacoeciae in controlling T. absoluta in greenhouse tomatoes of northeastern Tunisia. However, further studies are needed to evaluate other release rates of M. pygmaeus that could show promising effectiveness against T. absoluta in northeastern Tunisian greenhouses.KEYWORDS: Biocontrol agentegg parasitoidfield release ratelife stage densitymirid predatorSouth American tomato pinworm AcknowledgementsWe gratefully acknowledge the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT) for the financial support during this study. The authors also thank the farmers in all study sites for their valuable contribution to this work.Availability of data and materialsThe data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was funded by the European Union within the framework of the ENI Cross-Border Cooperation Programme Italy-Tunisia 2014–2020 - the INTEMAR project-IS_2.1_073 Innovations in the integrated control of insect pests and pathogens recently introduced on vegetable crops, grant number E64I18002460007.","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"215 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135992609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-28DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2263185
Abdessamad Sallami, Karim Rabeh, Abdelali Idrissi Lahsini, Hanane El Khedri, Allal Douira, Cherkaoui El Modafar, Leila Medraoui, Abdelkarim Filali-Maltouf
ABSTRACTThe rhizosphere of olive trees (Olea europaea L.) is a source of bacteria with a high potential for biocontrol and plant growth promotion. In the present study, two native olive tree gram-negative bacteria were isolated from the rhizosphere of century-old trees in the region of Zouala (south-eastern Morocco), known for its arid climate and saline soils. The strains Pantoea agglomerans and Enterobacter ludwigii exhibited high tolerance to high PEG and NaCl concentrations, and significant plant growth-promoting (PGP) potential in vitro. The two strains efficiently solubilised phosphate in its two forms (TCP and RP), and Mica as a source of potassium and produced IAA. The two strains exhibited in vitro inhibition ability against Verticillium dahliae with partial inhibition of the growth of the mycelium by the strain P. agglomerans MRC_ZO_17. Greenhouse experiments showed that olive tree seedlings treated with the E. ludwigii MRC_ZO_97 strain significantly improved growth (dry weight) in the presence and absence of the pathogen compared to untreated plants, while the P. agglomerans MRC_ZO_17 strain showed significant effects on seedling growth only in the presence of the pathogen V. dahliae OV1 defoliating pathotype. Both strains showed high exopolysaccharides (EPS) production and good biofilm formation, making them excellent plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) and Biological Control Agents (BCAs) with great potential to survive in soil under stress conditions.KEYWORDS: OliveVerticillium dahliaePGPRPhosphate solubilisationAbiotic stress AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology of Morocco for its financial support (Rhizolive project).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
{"title":"The ability of two indigenous bacteria isolated from Moroccan olive tree to promote the growth of olive seedlings in the presence of the pathogen <i>Verticillium dahliae</i>","authors":"Abdessamad Sallami, Karim Rabeh, Abdelali Idrissi Lahsini, Hanane El Khedri, Allal Douira, Cherkaoui El Modafar, Leila Medraoui, Abdelkarim Filali-Maltouf","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2263185","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2263185","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTThe rhizosphere of olive trees (Olea europaea L.) is a source of bacteria with a high potential for biocontrol and plant growth promotion. In the present study, two native olive tree gram-negative bacteria were isolated from the rhizosphere of century-old trees in the region of Zouala (south-eastern Morocco), known for its arid climate and saline soils. The strains Pantoea agglomerans and Enterobacter ludwigii exhibited high tolerance to high PEG and NaCl concentrations, and significant plant growth-promoting (PGP) potential in vitro. The two strains efficiently solubilised phosphate in its two forms (TCP and RP), and Mica as a source of potassium and produced IAA. The two strains exhibited in vitro inhibition ability against Verticillium dahliae with partial inhibition of the growth of the mycelium by the strain P. agglomerans MRC_ZO_17. Greenhouse experiments showed that olive tree seedlings treated with the E. ludwigii MRC_ZO_97 strain significantly improved growth (dry weight) in the presence and absence of the pathogen compared to untreated plants, while the P. agglomerans MRC_ZO_17 strain showed significant effects on seedling growth only in the presence of the pathogen V. dahliae OV1 defoliating pathotype. Both strains showed high exopolysaccharides (EPS) production and good biofilm formation, making them excellent plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) and Biological Control Agents (BCAs) with great potential to survive in soil under stress conditions.KEYWORDS: OliveVerticillium dahliaePGPRPhosphate solubilisationAbiotic stress AcknowledgmentsThe authors thank the Hassan II Academy of Science and Technology of Morocco for its financial support (Rhizolive project).Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135344461","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-28DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2262783
Caio Henrique Binda de Assis, Mateus Lopes Domiciano, Ronilda Lana Aguiar, Anderson Mathias Holtz, Thiago Rodrigues Dutra, José Romário de Carvalho
ABSTRACTHenosepilachna vigintioctopunctata is a cosmopolitan pest with few records in South America. Podisus nigrispinus is a generalist predator naturally occurring in Brazilian agroecosystems. The objective of this work was to evaluate the biocontrol potential of P. nigrispinus on adults and larvae of H. vigintioctopunctata. Predation of P. nigrispinus adults on larval and adult stages of H. vigintioctopunctata was experimentally evaluated under laboratory conditions. Podisus nigrispinus was able to prey H. vigintioctopunctata larvae. The present study constitutes the first experimental evaluation of P. nigrispinus as a potential biocontrol agent for H. vigintioctopunctata.KEYWORDS: Biological controlpredator-prey relationcoccinellid pestspredatory bug Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingWe thank Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo (FAPES) and the Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo (IFES) for financial support and grants.
摘要八爪蝽是一种世界性害虫,在南美地区鲜有记录。黑足鼠(Podisus nigrispinus)是一种在巴西农业生态系统中自然存在的多面手捕食者。本研究的目的是评价黑皮拟虫对夜蛸成虫和幼虫的生物防治潜力。在实验室条件下,实验评价了黑绒螯虾成虫对夜蛸幼虫期和成虫期的捕食行为。黑足鼠能够捕食夜足鼠的幼虫。本研究是首次对黑皮伪蛛作为一种潜在的生物防治剂进行实验评价。关键词:生物防治捕食-食饵关系瓢虫虫虫传播性臭虫披露声明作者未报告潜在利益冲突。我们感谢国家环境保护协会Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)、高级经济协调组织Nível (CAPES)、经济协调组织Espírito Santo (FAPES)和Espírito Santo联邦研究所(IFES)提供的财政支持和赠款。
{"title":"<i>Podisus nigrispinus</i> (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), a potential biocontrol agent of larvae and adults of <i>Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata</i> (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)","authors":"Caio Henrique Binda de Assis, Mateus Lopes Domiciano, Ronilda Lana Aguiar, Anderson Mathias Holtz, Thiago Rodrigues Dutra, José Romário de Carvalho","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2262783","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2262783","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTHenosepilachna vigintioctopunctata is a cosmopolitan pest with few records in South America. Podisus nigrispinus is a generalist predator naturally occurring in Brazilian agroecosystems. The objective of this work was to evaluate the biocontrol potential of P. nigrispinus on adults and larvae of H. vigintioctopunctata. Predation of P. nigrispinus adults on larval and adult stages of H. vigintioctopunctata was experimentally evaluated under laboratory conditions. Podisus nigrispinus was able to prey H. vigintioctopunctata larvae. The present study constitutes the first experimental evaluation of P. nigrispinus as a potential biocontrol agent for H. vigintioctopunctata.KEYWORDS: Biological controlpredator-prey relationcoccinellid pestspredatory bug Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingWe thank Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo (FAPES) and the Instituto Federal do Espírito Santo (IFES) for financial support and grants.","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"73 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135425355","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-09-27DOI: 10.1080/09583157.2023.2259638
Augusto Javier Peña-Peña, Carlos Fredy Ortiz Garcia, Jhony Navat Enriquez Vara, Carlos Mariano Oropeza Salín
ABSTRACTRhynchophorus palmarum is a significant pest of Cocos nucifera on the American continent. Therefore, this work aimed to search and characterise entomopathogenic fungi isolates to control R. palmarum under laboratory conditions. Sixty-three isolates of Metarhizium spp. were obtained from soil samples from different coconut plantations in four regions in Tabasco, México. The sites were edaphically characterised, and the presence of Metarhizium was almost null in the sites with 90% sand. The ITS region of the DNA of eleven isolates was analysed, and M. robertsii and M. anisopliae s.l. were identified. The mycelial growth (MG) of 38 isolates was evaluated, which were incubated at 25°C, 30°C, and ·35°C on Potato Dextrose Agar with Yeast for 14 d. The optimal growth for some strains was at 25°C and 30°C; for others, at 35°C. The MG colonies were small (< 1 cm) and irregular. The pathogenicity of the strains was evaluated in Tenebrio molitor larvae for 14 d with a conidia suspension 108 (conidia/mL). All the strains were pathogenic to T. molitor. However, only two strains (PAL 231.1, PAL 733.1) identified as M. robertsii reached cumulative mortality of over 60%. Then, these two strains were tested in adults of R. palmarum for 21 d with three conidia concentrations (107, 108, 109 conidia/mL). The suspension 109 conidia/mL of PAL 733.1 was the most pathogenic, with cumulative mortality of 60% and LT50 at 17 d. Therefore, the strain PAL 733.1 is proposed as a potential biological control agent against R. palmarum.KEYWORDS: BiocontrolMetarhizium robertsiiMetarhizium anisopliaeSouth American palm weevilintegrated pest management AcknowledgementsThe authors thank Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Tecnología (CONAHCYT, México) for the scholarship granted to A. J. Peña-Peña; FORDECYT-CONAHCYT (grant number 296195) for partially financing the research; CP-Campus Tabasco and CICY for allowing A.J. Peña-Peña conduct research activities at their premises; and Davira Palma-Cancino, Pablo Palma-Cancino, and María Narvaez-Cab for technical support.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [grant number ]; FORDECYT-CONACYT [grant number: 296195].
{"title":"Occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi in coconut soils, identification, physiological characterisation and pathogenicity towards <i>Rhynchophorus palmarum</i> (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae)","authors":"Augusto Javier Peña-Peña, Carlos Fredy Ortiz Garcia, Jhony Navat Enriquez Vara, Carlos Mariano Oropeza Salín","doi":"10.1080/09583157.2023.2259638","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09583157.2023.2259638","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACTRhynchophorus palmarum is a significant pest of Cocos nucifera on the American continent. Therefore, this work aimed to search and characterise entomopathogenic fungi isolates to control R. palmarum under laboratory conditions. Sixty-three isolates of Metarhizium spp. were obtained from soil samples from different coconut plantations in four regions in Tabasco, México. The sites were edaphically characterised, and the presence of Metarhizium was almost null in the sites with 90% sand. The ITS region of the DNA of eleven isolates was analysed, and M. robertsii and M. anisopliae s.l. were identified. The mycelial growth (MG) of 38 isolates was evaluated, which were incubated at 25°C, 30°C, and ·35°C on Potato Dextrose Agar with Yeast for 14 d. The optimal growth for some strains was at 25°C and 30°C; for others, at 35°C. The MG colonies were small (< 1 cm) and irregular. The pathogenicity of the strains was evaluated in Tenebrio molitor larvae for 14 d with a conidia suspension 108 (conidia/mL). All the strains were pathogenic to T. molitor. However, only two strains (PAL 231.1, PAL 733.1) identified as M. robertsii reached cumulative mortality of over 60%. Then, these two strains were tested in adults of R. palmarum for 21 d with three conidia concentrations (107, 108, 109 conidia/mL). The suspension 109 conidia/mL of PAL 733.1 was the most pathogenic, with cumulative mortality of 60% and LT50 at 17 d. Therefore, the strain PAL 733.1 is proposed as a potential biological control agent against R. palmarum.KEYWORDS: BiocontrolMetarhizium robertsiiMetarhizium anisopliaeSouth American palm weevilintegrated pest management AcknowledgementsThe authors thank Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencia y Tecnología (CONAHCYT, México) for the scholarship granted to A. J. Peña-Peña; FORDECYT-CONAHCYT (grant number 296195) for partially financing the research; CP-Campus Tabasco and CICY for allowing A.J. Peña-Peña conduct research activities at their premises; and Davira Palma-Cancino, Pablo Palma-Cancino, and María Narvaez-Cab for technical support.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología [grant number ]; FORDECYT-CONACYT [grant number: 296195].","PeriodicalId":8820,"journal":{"name":"Biocontrol Science and Technology","volume":"33 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135537497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}