Effect of intercrops on thrips species composition and population abundance on French beans in Kenya

The study aimed at determining thrips species composition and thrips population density on French bean planted as a sole crop and as an intercrop with either sunflower, Irish potato, or baby corn, in various combinations. Field experiments were conducted in two seasons to examine: (1) thrips population development and thrips species composition over time, (2) effect of intercrops on thrips population density and natural enemies, and (3) effect of intercrops on French bean yield. The experiments were conducted at the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Embu, Kenya in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. The thrips population on French beans increased with time. It showed a peak at the flowering stage then started declining when the crops were nearing senescence. French beans hosted four thrips species, Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom), Frankliniella schultzei (Trybom), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), and Hydatothrips aldolfifriderici (Karny) (all Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in order of decreasing abundance. The main thrips species on Irish potato and sunflower was F. schultzei. Baby corn hosted only Frankliniella williamsi (Hood) and Thrips pusillus (Bagnall). A monocrop of French bean hosted more thrips than a French bean intercrop mix. Thrips natural enemies such as Orius spp. and Ceranisus spp. were recorded in all crop plants but in especially high numbers on French bean and baby corn, respectively. Plots with French bean alone had about 1.4 times higher yields compared to intercropped plots of French bean with sunflower and French bean with baby corn. However, the percentage of pods that could get rejected on the market due to thrips damage was highest on plots with French bean alone (68 and 63%) and lowest on plots with French bean and baby corn (35 and 37%) in the first and second seasons, respectively. This study showed that a complex of thrips is found in the field and its composition varies with crop stage and species. Intercropping French bean with other crops compromises on French bean yield but reduces damage to the French bean pods, thereby enhancing marketable yield.     

西花蓟马的抗药性及其治理策略

西花蓟马Frankliniella occidentalis（Pergande）是世界性的园艺作物上的重要害虫,几乎对每种类型的杀虫剂均产生了抗药性,包括有机磷、氨基甲酸酯、拟除虫菊酯类杀虫剂和多杀菌素等。本文对国外西花蓟马的抗药性发展现状和抗性机制进行了总结,并提出了抗性治理策略,即科学合理使用杀虫剂,结合栽培防治、物理防治、生物防治和寄主植物抗性等方式降低杀虫剂对西花蓟马的选择压,从而达到抗性治理的目的。     

Sex‐biased dispersal and high levels of gene flow among local populations in the argentine boa constrictor,Boa constrictor occidentalis

Abstract The knowledge of dispersal is essential to understand the ecology of any species, since population dynamics, spatial distribution and genetic structure are closely tied to patterns of movement. In this paper we estimate dispersal patterns in natural populations of the endangered snake Boa constrictor occidentalis (Serpentes, Boidae), using allozymes as genetic markers. Blood samples were obtained from a total of 120 adult individuals of nine localities from two areas, Sobremonte and Pocho, in Argentina. Only four out of a total of 24 loci were polymorphic: 6‐Pgdh‐1, Cat‐1, Ldh and Hp. The values of expected and observed mean heterozygosities, the percentage of polymorphic loci and mean number of alleles per locus for each population confirm the low levels of genetic variability in this snake. F_ST and N_em mean values were 0.0089 and 46.1 for Sobremonte and 0.0379 and 7.46 for Pocho, indicating important levels of gene flow. A comparison of F_ST between genders in both areas suggests a male‐biased dispersal, which could be explained by the characteristics of the mating system: males carry out an active mate search of receptive females, and philopatry could be selected in females due to the benefits of the familiarity with the natal area in the use of local resources.     

Foraging behavior responses of Orius insidiosus to thrips cues

The minute pirate bugs (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) are effective biological control agents against destructive agricultural pests such as the western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) in agroecosystems around the world. One species, Orius insidiosus (Say), has proven effective in controlling thrips populations in fields and greenhouses, and serves as an integral component of many integrated pest management (IPM) programs. Three experiments were conducted using motion-tracking software and dual-choice Y-tube bioassays to determine whether direct thrips contact and thrips cues contact induced arrestant and attractant behaviors. The experiments revealed that O. insidiosus adults exhibited behavioral changes indicative of switching from extensive to intensive foraging after direct exposure to thrips prey. Similar arresting behavior was induced by the presence of thrips tracks alone. In Y-tube bioassays O. insidiosus showed preference towards arms containing tracks from western flower thrips larvae vs. clean arms, but only when direct contact with the tracks was made in the stem. Our data indicate that thrips deposit non-volatile semiochemicals that are used by O. insidiosus during foraging. These compounds have the potential to aid in O. insidiosus behavior manipulation which may help in early control of thrips populations in fields and greenhouses. Further research is necessary to determine the chemical composition of these cues and how to effectively and pragmatically integrate the inducing stimuli into biocontrol programs as part of IPM strategies.     

Compatibility of early natural enemy introductions in commercial pepper and tomato greenhouses with repeated pesticide applications

Successful integrated pest management in protected crops implies an evaluation of the compatibility of pesticides and natural enemies (NE), as control strategies that only rely on one tactic can fail when pest populations exceed NE activity or pests become resistant to pesticides. Nowadays in Almería (Spain), growers release NE prior to transplanting or early in the crop cycle to favor their settlement before pest arrival because this improves biocontrol efficacy, although it extends pesticide exposure periods. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the compatibility of two applications of pesticides with key NE in 2‐year trials inside tomato and sweet pepper commercial greenhouses: Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) (Hemiptera: Miridae), Orius laevigatus (Say) (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and Amblyseius swirskii (Athias‐Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae). In tomato, flubendiamide and chlorantraniliprole (IOBC category 1) were compatible with N. tenuis, but chlorpyrifos‐methyl and spinosad (IOBC categories 2–3), which effectively reduced Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) density, compromised its predatory activity. In sweet pepper, chlorantraniliprole (IOBC category 1) was the only pesticide compatible with O. laevigatus while chlorantraniliprole, emamectin benzoate, spirotetramat and pymetrozine were harmless (IOBC category 1) to Amblyseius swirskii, and sulfoxaflor slightly harmful (IOBC category 2) to this phytoseiid predator.     

Trap colour and aggregation pheromone dose affect the catch of western flower thrips in blackberry crops

Frankliniella occidentalis causes significant damage to berry crops in Mexico. Traps may be used for monitoring or mass-trapping thrips populations. Generally, colour traps are used for monitoring thrips, but sometimes a chemical stimulus can be added to the traps. However, there is conflicting information about what colour is the most attractive and efficient for capturing F. occidentalis. In this study, we first evaluated six colours of adhesive traps for catching F. occidentalis in blackberries grown in tunnels or in an open field. Subsequently, using the most attractive trap colour, we assessed the biological activity of neryl (S)-2-methylbutanoate and (R)-lavandulyl acetate, components of the pheromone aggregation of F. occidentalis. Finally, we examined the effect of neryl (S)-2-methylbutanoate dosage rates on the number of captured thrips. We found that blue (tunnel) and yellow (open field) followed by violet traps captured a significantly greater number of F. occidentalis compared with the white, black and green traps. Our results confirm that neryl (S)-2-methylbutanoate is the only component necessary for enhancing the performance of coloured traps. Blue and yellow traps baited with 200–400 µg of neryl (S)-2-methylbutanoate increased the capture 2.5–3 times compared to unbaited traps. In all experiments, traps captured more females than males in blackberries grown in tunnels, whereas the opposite was found in blackberries cultivated in the open field. These results constitute the first step in the development of a monitoring system for F. occidentalis in soft fruit crops in Mexico.     

Effects of mating system on adaptive potential for leaf morphology in Crepis tectorum (Asteraceae)

Background and Aims

A shift from outcrossing to selfing is thought to reduce the long-term survival of populations by decreasing the genetic variation necessary for adaptation to novel ecological conditions. However, theory also predicts an increase in adaptive potential as more of the existing variation becomes expressed as homozygous genotypes. So far, relatively few studies have examined how a transition to selfing simultaneously affects means, variances and covariances for characters that might be under stabilizing selection for a spatially varying optimum, e.g. characters describing leaf morphology.

Methods

Experimental crosses within an initially self-sterile population of Crepis tectorum were performed to produce an outbred and inbred progeny population to assess how a shift to selfing affects the adaptive potential for measures of leaf morphology, with special emphasis on the degree of leaf dissection, a major target of diversifying selection within the study species.

Key Results

Three consecutive generations of selfing had a minor impact on survival, the total number of heads produced and the mean leaf phenotype, but caused a proportional increase in the genetic (co)variance matrix for foliar characters. For the degree of leaf dissection, the lowest 50th percentile of the inbred progeny population showed a disproportionate increase in the genetic variance, consistent with the recessive nature of the weakly lobed phenotype observed in interpopulation crosses. Comparison of inbreeding response with large-scale patterns of variation indicates a potential for selection in a (recently) inbred population to drive a large evolutionary reduction in degree of leaf dissection by increasing the frequency of particular sibling lines.

Conclusions

The results point to a positive role for inbreeding in phenotypic evolution, at least during or immediately after a rapid shift in mating system.     

二斑叶螨的卵和丝网对西花蓟马生长发育和繁殖的影响

为探讨二斑叶螨Tetranychus urticae Koch的卵和丝网对西花蓟马Frankliniella occidentalis(Pergande)的影响,本文研究了西花蓟马分别取食健康菜豆叶片、带二斑叶螨卵的菜豆叶片、带卵+丝网的菜豆叶片3种不同情况下,西花蓟马生长发育、存活和繁殖情况,并获得了其生命参数。结果表明西花蓟马在带二斑叶螨卵的菜豆叶片上发育最快,其未成熟期为11.35 d,明显短于另外两个处理,在带有二斑叶螨卵和丝网的菜豆叶片上成虫获得率最低为63%,西花蓟马在不同处理之间的成虫寿命和繁殖力没有明显的差异;西花蓟马取食3种菜豆叶片的内禀增长率分别为0.1779、0.1827和0.1710。以上结果说明取食二斑叶螨的卵可缩短西花蓟马发育时间,对种群增长有利,二斑叶螨的丝网可降低西花蓟马的存活率。