The parasitic mite, Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman), is a leading cause of honey bee colony losses around the world. Application of miticides such as amitraz are often the primary method of Varroa control in commercial beekeeping operations in the US. It is likely that excessive and exclusive amitraz application has led to the development of amitraz resistance in Varroa. A mutation of tyrosine

The potential risk of insecticidal proteins produced by genetically engineered (GE) plants to non-target organisms have long been an ecotoxicological concern. Apanteles chilonis, an important endoparasitoid of rice pest Chilo suppressalis, is potentially exposed to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) endotoxins through a food chain of transgenic Bt rice - C. suppressalis - A. chilonis, thus, a rigorous risk

Telenomus remus (Nixon) is a dominant natural enemy controlling the invasive pest Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith). Continuous rearing of egg parasitoids on alternative hosts is crucial for mass production and cost reduction. However, to ensure the effectiveness of natural enemy products against target pests in the field, it is necessary to evaluate the parasitoid quality during the mass-rearing

Fruit flies are internationally important quarantine or invasive pests of many fruits and vegetables and can cause serious economic losses. Long-term reliance on insecticides for controlling these pests has led to increasing resistance to multiple insecticides; hence, a new agent is needed. In this study, the acute toxicity and sublethal effects of the novel insecticide broflanilide on four adult fruit

The white-backed planthopper (WBPH, Sogatella furcifera) is a major rice pest that exhibits condition dependent wing dimorphisms – a macropterous (long wing) form and a brachypterous (short wing) form. Although, the gene cascade that regulates wing development and dimorphic differentiation has been largely defined, the utility of these genes as targets for pest control has yet to be fully explored

With no effective drugs or widely available vaccines, dengue control in Bangladesh is dependent on targeting the primary vector Aedes aegypti with insecticides and larval source management. Despite these interventions, the dengue burden is increasing in Bangladesh, and the country experienced its worst outbreak in 2019 with 101,354 hospitalized cases. This may be partially facilitated by the presence

Halyomorpha halys, (brown marmorated stink bug, BMSB), is a high-concern invasive species causing severe damage to orchards in many countries outside its native Asian range. Management methods other than frequent sprays of broad-spectrum insecticides are needed to restore integrated pest management (IPM) practices in orchards. Chitin synthesis inhibitors are usually regarded as desirable options in

The silkworm as one of the model organisms of invertebrates was the first economically important insect used for silk production in human history, and it has been put to good use throughout its domestication history. However, sericulture has been repeatedly hit by various pathogens causing serious economic losses. There are many strategies for enhancing the resistance of host to its pathogens. For

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is a global pest that feeds on more than 350 plant species and severely limits production of cultivated grasses, vegetable crops and cotton. An efficient way to detect new invasions at early stages and monitor and quantify the status of established infestations of this pest is to deploy traps baited with species-specific synthetic sex pheromone

To discover more efficient antimicrobial agents in agriculture, a series of new quinazoline derivatives bearing both sulfonate ester and piperidine-4-carboxamide moieties were synthesized and assessed for their antimicrobial effects.

Chemical control is an important method for controlling crop diseases. Clarifying the antibacterial mechanisms of bactericides is useful for developing new bactericides and for continuous plant disease control. In this study, the antibacterial mechanism of a novel bactericide, dioctyldiethylenetriamine (Xinjunan), which affects adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis, was investigated.

Phytopathogenic fungi can cause a direct loss in economic value of agriculture. Especially Valsa mali Miyabe et Yamada, a devastating phytopathogenic disease especially threatening global apple production, is very difficult to control and manage. To discover new potential antifungal agents, a series of thiosemicarbazone derivatives of 3-acetyl-N-benzylindoles were prepared. Their antifungal activities

Each Grapholita molesta female only copulates once during its lifetime and thus must maintain the viability of stored eupyrene sperm for male reproductive success. The male ejaculate comprises abundant accessory gland proteins produced by the male accessory gland (AG), and many of which are major effectors for sperm storage and maintenance.

Although co-formulants constitute a substantial portion of the total PPP mass applied to crops, data on residue formation and behaviour of these substances on plants is scarce. In an earlier study we demonstrated that co-formulants commonly used in PPPs can form considerable residues i.e. in the low to medium mg/kg-range, but normally decline rapidly within few days. In the field trial reported here

The unreasonable use of chemical fungicides cause common adverse consequences, which not only affect the environment, but also cause resistance and resurgence problems of plant pathogens, which are extremely harmful to human health, economy, and environment. Based on the rich biological activities of boron-based compounds, eighty-two phenylboronic acid derivatives were selected, and their antifungal

Cover crops can suppress soilborne nematodes and fungal pathogens by serving as a poor host to pathogens and producing allelopathic compounds. Yet, cultural practices can influence their effectiveness. Cover crop and weedy fallow rotations and their interactions with deep tillage were evaluated from 2019 to 2021 in a 3-season vegetable cropping system (spring tomato, fall squash, and winter cabbage)

Echinochloa glabrescens Munro ex Hook. f. is one of the main Echinochloa spp. seriously invading Chinese rice fields and has evolved resistance to commonly used herbicides. Previously, an E. glabrescens population (LJ-02) with suspected resistance to the acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicide metamifop was collected. This study aimed to determine its resistance status to metamifop and

The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) can infest over 300 plant species and cause huge economic losses. Beauveria bassiana (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) is one of the most widely used entomopathogenic fungi (EPF). Unfortunately, the efficacy of B. bassiana against S. frugiperda is quite low. Hypervirulent EPF isolates can be obtained by ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation. Here

Several benzenoid aromatic compounds were found to attract second-stage juveniles (J2) of Meloidogyne species in previous studies. Here, the attraction of Meloidogyne J2 to the nematicides fluopyram and fluensulfone, with and without aromatic attractants, was evaluated on agar plates and in sand.

Selective insecticides and insecticide-resistant natural enemies are components of chemical and biological methods that can be compatible in an integrated pest management program. Many insecticides that are labeled for treatment against insects in Brassica crops have lost their efficacy because of the development of resistance. However, natural enemies can provide an important role in regulating the

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are important self-defense outputs of pepper plants to resist insect pests. Ascoviruses are pathogenic to the larvae of most lepidopteran vegetable pests. However, whether Heliothis virescens ascovirus 3 h (HvAV-3 h)-infected Spodoptera litura larvae can change pepper leaf HIPVs is not well understood.

Vegetable viruses are difficult to prevent and control in field, causing massive economic losses of agricultural production in the world. To develop new natural product-based antiviral agent is an effective means to control viral diseases. As one of nature product framework, 1-indanones present various pharmacologically active, while their application in agriculture remains to be found.

The rational utilization of botanical secondary metabolites is one of the strategies to reduce the application of chemical fungicides. The extensive biological activities of Clausena lansium indicate that it has the potential to develop botanical fungicides.

Selecting wheat varieties with allelopathic potential or high competitiveness against weeds is a sustainable solution for organic farming to eliminate the use of synthetic herbicides. Wheat is one of the most economically important crops. This study focuses on screening the allelopathic or competitive potential of four wheat cultivars, i.e., ‘Maurizio’, ‘NS 40S’ ‘Adesso’ and ‘Element’ on two weeds

The phoma stem canker pathogen Leptosphaeria maculans is one of the most widespread and devastating pathogens of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) in the world. Pathogen colonisation is stopped by an interaction of a pathogen Avr effector genes with the corresponding host resistance (R) gene. While molecular mechanisms of this gene-for-gene interaction are being elucidated, understanding of effector function

Turfgrass systems may offer opportunities for overcoming some constraints on the successful implementation of weed biocontrol. Of the roughly 16.4 million ha of turfgrass in the USA, about 60% to 75% are in residential lawns and 3% are golf turf. Annual expenditures for a standard herbicide treatment regimen for residential turf are estimated to be about $US326 ha-1, about two to three times that of