Journal Of Crop Protection
Volume:12 Issue: 4, Dec 2023

In this study, the specimens of the genus Cinetus Jurine, 1807 (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae) were collected using the Malaise traps during 2010-2019 in Northern Iran. The genus Cinetus and five related species are recorded from Iran for the first time: Cinetus angustatus Kieffer, 1910, C. ditomus (Kieffer, 1910), C. fuliginosus Curtis, 1831, C. iridipennis Lepeletier and Serville, 1825 and C. simulans Nixon, 1957. Diagnostic characters, illustrations, geographical distributions, and a key to Iranian species of the genus Cinetus are provided.

Root-knot nematodes, Meloidogyne spp. cause 5% of the global crop losses. Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are a potentially effective nematicide. There are many methods to synthesize metallic nanoparticles, including using organic compounds, which are clean and environmentally friendly. In the present studies, the efficacy of as-synthesized AgNPs using Malva sylvestris extract (Ms-AgNPs) on egg hatching and mortality of the second-stage juveniles (J2) of M. javanica in vitro, and on the growth parameters of nematode infected tomato plant under greenhouse conditions was investigated. The results showed that increasing Ms-AgNPs concentration decreased the hatching rate and increased the mortality of J2. Ms-AgNPs at 107, 164 and 250 ppm reduced J2 numbers by 30, 50, and 70%, respectively, and were established as lethal doses for nematode control. Ms-AgNPs at a dosage of 250 ppm reduced the number of eggs in the root system and the nematode reproduction factor by 60.4 and 56.3%, respectively, and increased shoot length and shoot fresh weight by 11.2 and 14%, respectively. Ms-AgNPs at a very low concentration reduced the population of M. javanica without causing any harmful effects on tomato. Therefore it can be used in nematode control strategies due to its environmentally friendly composition.

Wheat seeds harbor different microbial populations, which can be associated with each other in neutral, positive, or negative interactions. The present study investigated the interaction of fluorescent Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas translucens (Xt) as an important wheat seed-borne pathogen. In addition to P. fluorescens (A7) and P. chloroaphis (A4), which were previously isolated from the rhizosphere of potato as potent biocontrol agents, six more non-pathogenic Pseudomonas strains that were isolated from wheat seeds, were studied. According to the general biochemical tests and partial 16S rRNA sequences alignment, the isolated strains were closely related to the species of P. gessardii, P. orientalis, P. poae, P. koreensis, and P. cedrina. The Pseudomonas strains exhibit different antagonistic activities, such as phosphate solubilization, cellulase, protease, and lipase production. Also, they have an apparent inhibition effect under in vivo conditions against X. translucens. Seed treatment by these strains led to suppressing bacterial leaf streak disease incidence in an early growth stage. However, disease progress enhanced with the seedling growth, resulting in the treated plants' complete death. Only in treated seeds by P. fluorescens (A7), P. chloroaphis(A4), and P. orientalis (Ais119) decrease of AUDPC up to 83%, 74%, and 63% was achieved, respectively, compared with the untreated controls. Our results showed that some fluorescent Pseudomonas strains could cause delay at the beginning of the disease appearance due to competition or producing antimicrobial metabolites during that time. In contrast, some may be considered a threat, enhancing disease development through synergistic effects.

Three dose-response experiments were conducted separately to study the effect of several adjuvants on nicosulfuron efficacy for controlling Amaranthus retroflexus L., Chenopodium album L. and Echinochloa crus-galli L. The experiments were arranged in a completely randomized block design with a factorial arrangement of the treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of six doses of nicosulfuron at 0 (control), 5, 10, 20, 40, and 80 g a.i.ha-1 of the recommended dose with and without the adjuvants of cotton oil, rocket oil, soybean oil, maize oil, Adigor®, Volck®, HydroMax™ at 0.5% (v/v), Cytogate, Trend® 90, and D-octil® at 0.2 % (V/V). The efficacy of nicosulfuron in control of A. retroflexus, C. album, and E. crus-galli increased significantly when the adjuvants were used. HydroMax™ and Trend® 90 were the best adjuvants, considering enhanced nicosulfuron efficacy for controlling C. album, E. crus-galli, and A. retroflexus. In the presence of HydroMax™ nicosulfuron efficacy was raised by a factor of 4.02, 3.45, and 1.65-fold for controlling A. retroflexus, E. crus-galli, and C. album, respectively. In general, the efficacy of nicosulfuron to control A. retroflexus and E. crus-galli was higher than C. album.

Waxy-leaved mustard (Boreava orientalis Jaub. and Spach.) is an invasive species recently reported in Kurdistan province in western Iran with allelopathic properties. To evaluate the effect of the extract of different parts of waxy-leaved mustard on wheat germination, an experiment was conducted as a factorial based on a completely randomized design in the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kurdistan, Iran. The allelopathic potential of waxy-leaved mustard's root, leaf, stem, and flower were evaluated, and secondary metabolite compounds were identified. Effect of Alcohol extracts at concentrations of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4% of roots, leaves, stems, and flowers of waxy-leaved mustard were evaluated on wheat germination Indicators. Increasing extract concentration significantly increased the inhibition of seed germination and caused a decrease in germination rate, reduction of stem length, and reduction of seed vigor index. Alcoholic extracts of waxy-leaved mustard flowers had significantly more effect compared to the alcoholic extracts of roots, even at the lowest concentration (1%). The results of this study show that waxy-leaved mustard has a strong allelopathic potential, which emphasizes the importance of reducing its allelopathic effects and developing effective management strategies for mitigating invasion risk and thereby protecting crops like wheat.

The cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae L. (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is an important pest of canola that can considerably limit crop production through direct or indirect damage. In this study, the effects of Azadirachtin, Tondexir, Palizin, and Thiamethoxam, common insecticides used in managing the cabbage aphid, were investigated on the population growth parameters of this pest. Based on the results, the LC50 values for Thiamethoxam, Palizin, Azadirachtin, and Tondexir were 0.19, 0.63, 1.00, and 3.82 g/L, respectively. Moreover, LC30 concentrations of Thiamethoxam, Palizin, Azadirachtin, and Tondexir were 0.11, 0.10, 0.41, and 1.68 g/L, respectively, applied in the sublethal studies. The cabbage aphids reared on the plants treated with these insecticides had lower longevity, fecundity, and reproductive period than the control treatment. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm), finite rate of increase (λ), net reproductive rate (R0), and generation time (T) were lower on Thiamethoxam treatment. Tondexir and Palizin treatments had lower values than Azadirachtin. However, there was no significant difference between the Tondexir and Palizin treatments. The population treated by Azadirachtin had the highest values of growth parameters. According to the results and available information in the context of risk assessment of the studied insecticides, this research recommends the application of Thiamethoxam in the integrated pest management of cabbage aphid.

During the survey in the orchards of Al-Husiniya in Karbala in June 2019, specimens of Psilochalcis elegantula (Masi, 1929) were collected using a sweep net. It is the first record of the genus Psilochalcis Kieffer, 1905 and P. elegantula from Iraq. The important morphological characters are illustrated and discussed. An updated list of the chalcidid species in Iraq is also provided including ten species in six genera.

During a faunistic survey on mites in Kastamonu and Sinop provinces near Black Sea of Türkiye during the years 2013–2017, some larval specimens of parasitengone mites were collected from soil and light traps and identified as Erythraeus (E.) ankaraicus Saboori, Çobanoğlu and Bayram 2004, Allothrombium clavatum Saboori, Pešić and Hakimitabar, 2010, Abrolophus kazimierae (Haitlinger, 1986), Abrolophus poljankus Haitlinger and Šundić, 2021, Allothrombium meridionale Berlese, 1910, Empitrombium makolae Sevsay and Karakurt, 2013, Leptus (Leptus) slivovi Beron, 1975 and Calyptostoma velutinum (Müller, 1776). In this study, Leptus (Leptus) slivovi Beron, 1975, Abrolophus poljankus Haitlinger and Šundić, 2021 and Abrolophus balkanicus Haitlinger and Šundić, 2015 are new records to the mite fauna of Türkiye. Also, the identification key to known species of Abrolophus of the world without a comb-like seta on the palpal tarsus is updated.