The effects of intercropping with cereals and minimal permethrin applications on insect pests of cowpea and their natural enemies in Nigeria

Abstract

Major insect pests and their natural enemies were sampled on cowpea in monocrop and cereal intercrop plots in southern and northern Nigeria. Populations of flower thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom), were reduced by 42% and predators, mostly Orius spp. (Anthocoridae), by 23% on cowpea in maize intercrop plots at Ofiki in the south. Infestation by pyralid pod borer, Maruca testulalis Geyer, was unaffected by cropping system. The results suggest that tasselling maize attracts flower‐eating beetles (Meloidae) to intercrop plots, and that pod‐sucking Hemiptera were increased by cereal intercrops at Yankara in the north. Three u.l.v. applications of permethrin at 150 g a.i./ha to monocrop cowpea reduced pest populations by 50 to 85% in the south and increased yield sevenfold. However, the sprayed crop in the north was lost due to a heavy infestation of pod‐sucking bug, Clavigralla tomentosicollis Stål, and outbreaks of Aphis craccivora Koch on sprayed plots in both localities suggested damage to natural enemies. It is concluded that the pest management potential of intercropping is variable and dependent on environmental factors, but it is recommended that intercropping be used in integrated pest management systems with the progressive decrease in insecticide use.     

Status of Pod Borers as Pests of Pigeon Pea in Uttar Pradesh,India

Abstract

The main pulse crop during the kharif season in Uttar Pradesh (India) is pigeon pea. Melanagromyza obtusa Malloch, Exelastis atomosa W., Heliothis armigera Hubn., Euchrysops cnejus Fab., Maruca testulalis Geyer and Anarsia ephippias Meyrick are the important pod borers which cause great damage to this pulse crop. The symptoms of attack and methods of pest control are described.     

Controlling pests of tropical legumes; current recommendations and future strategies

Legumes have evolved effective defences against many pests by accumulating high levels of poisonous or indigestible compounds, pubescence and vigorous growth. These defences are greatly reduced in many cultivars of cowpea and common bean, which are susceptible to a succession of pest complexes. Stem pests and defoliators may kill seedlings but well-established plants tolerate heavy insect damage to leaves, flowers and green pods before pod or grain yields are reduced; virus vectors and root-knot nematode may be of greater importance. Generally, pod-borers, pod-sucking bugs and seed beetles are the main key pests. Control programmes are based on post-flowering treatments with broad spectrum insecticides. Battery-powered, controlled-droplet application machines are ousting knapsack sprayers in small-scale farming and competing with tractors and aircraft in larger units; subsistence cropping is still predominant and most legume crops remain unsprayed. Consequently, current emphasis is placed on developing cultivars with high yield potential and multiple pest and disease resistance. Insect infestations are lower in most other major legume crops largely due to pubescence (e.g. soybean, blackgram, greengram), fruiting in the dry season (e.g. pigeonpea, chickpea) or geocarpy (e.g. groundnut). Future entomological research will presumably concentrate on assessing the status of pests on resistant cultivars and introducing integrated control methods for the key pests.     

The profitability of maize–haricot bean intercropping techniques to control maize stem borers under low pest densities in Ethiopia

Lepidopteran stem borers are the main pests of cereals in Ethiopia. In recent years, habitat management techniques, which aim at increasing plant biodiversity through mixed cropping, have gained increased attention in stem borer control. In the present study, the profitability of mixed cropping of maize with haricot beans at different ratios and the effect on infestation of maize by stem borers, yield and borer parasitism were studied in Melkassa and Mieso, Ethiopia, in a field experiment under natural infestation. In Melkassa, pest infestations were too low for the cropping system to affect pests, plant damage and yields significantly, whereas in Mieso, where the pest densities were high, intercropping of maize with beans at ratios of 1:1 to 2:1 significantly decreased borer densities compared with pure maize stands. Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) and Cotesia flavipes. (Cameron) were the major stem borer and parasitoid species, respectively, recorded both at Melkassa and Mieso. Borer parasitism was higher at Mieso than at Melkassa and tended to increase with the increase of the haricot bean ratio in the intercropping system. Land equivalent ratios of >1 indicated higher land use efficiency in mixed compared with sole cropping, even if pest densities were low.     

Kombinierter Einsatz von synthetischen Insektiziden und Bacillus thuringiensis sowie Trichogramma evanescens gegen ausgewa¨hlte Scha¨dlinge an Vigna sesquipedalis unter tropischen Tieflandbedingungen

Field experiments with the synthetic insecticides, Methomyl and Carbaryl, alone and in combination with the biological control agents, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and Trichogramma evanescens, were conducted to control pests in yardlong beans, Vigna sesquipedalis, during the dry season 1998/1999. The experimental area was located at the Central Luzon State University in the province of Nueva Ecija on the Philippine main island Luzon. Carbaryl was applied against bean flies 5 days after plant emergence. Methomyl was sprayed against pod sucking insects and the bean podborer, Maruca vitrata, 45 days after plant emergence. The biological control agents were applied with the beginning of the flowering stage of V. sesquipedalis, when plants were first attacked by M. vitrata.Major insect pests on V. sesquipedalis were cowpea aphid (Aphis craccivora), leafminer (Liriomyza sp.), and bean podborer (M. vitrata). Both, Bt and T. evanescens had no significant impact on yield. M. vitrata eggs, exposed for 48 hours in the fields to augmented T. evanescens, were used to measure field efficacy of the parasitoid. Highest parasitism rate was 13.3%, thus, generally low.     

Kombinierter Einsatz von synthetischen Insektiziden und Bacillus thuringiensis sowie Trichogramma evanescens gegen ausgewa¨hlte Scha¨dlinge an Vigna sesquipedalis unter tropischen Tieflandbedingungen

Field experiments with the synthetic insecticides, Methomyl and Carbaryl, alone and in combination with the biological control agents, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) and Trichogramma evanescens, were conducted to control pests in yardlong beans, Vigna sesquipedalis, during the dry season 1998/1999. The experimental area was located at the Central Luzon State University in the province of Nueva Ecija on the Philippine main island Luzon. Carbaryl was applied against bean flies 5 days after plant emergence. Methomyl was sprayed against pod sucking insects and the bean podborer, Maruca vitrata, 45 days after plant emergence. The biological control agents were applied with the beginning of the flowering stage of V. sesquipedalis, when plants were first attacked by M. vitrata.Major insect pests on V. sesquipedalis were cowpea aphid (Aphis craccivora), leafminer (Liriomyza sp.), and bean podborer (M. vitrata). Both, Bt and T. evanescens had no significant impact on yield. M. vitrata eggs, exposed for 48 hours in the fields to augmented T. evanescens, were used to measure field efficacy of the parasitoid. Highest parasitism rate was 13.3%, thus, generally low.Highest yield was obtained from plots treated with both synthetic insecticides. No significant difference in fresh pod yield was observed when, in addition to the synthetic insecticides, Bt and/or T. evanescens was applied. However, all treatments significantly out-yielded the untreated control.     

Distribution pattern and sequential sampling plan for spotted pod borer,Maruca vitrata (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on pigeon pea,Cajanus cajan L

Spatial distribution of legume pod borer, Maruca vitrata (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on Pusa 992 pigeon pea cultivar during kharif (rainy season) 2011 and 2012 was analyzed through Taylor's power law (TPL) and Iwao's mean crowding (IMC) regression. M. vitrata exhibited an aggregated distribution pattern on the crop. The pooled data for the two years fitted well to the TPL (a = 1.05, b = 1.19, R² = 0.967) and the IMC (α = ?0.17, β = 1.124, R² = 0.99). The optimal sample sizes with the TPL parameters increased with an increased precision level. Based on the TPL parameters, the decision lines of sequential sampling for M. vitrata were determined to be d = 3n ± 2.5√n. The sequential sampling plan would economize decision-making for an effective management of M. vitrata.     

Influence of pesticide applications on pest and predatory arthropods associated with transgenic<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bt</Emphasis> cotton and nontransgenic cotton plants

The effects of pesticide applications on pests (aphids and acarid mites) and predators (ladybeetles and spiders) were investigated in transgenicBt cotton and nontransgenic cotton agroecosystems in 1999, 2000 and 2001. Transgenic cotton did not cause changes in populations of acarids and did not reduce numbers of predators considerably; its effects on aphids were inconsistent. Although insecticides were not applied against the main pest — cotton bollworm — on transgenic cotton, the total number of insecticide applications in 3 years was no less than the total applied on nontransgenic cotton, because additional applications were required against sucking pests on transgenicBt cotton. Pesticide applications decreased numbers of aphids, acarids and predatory spiders significantly on both transgenic and nontransgenic cottons. The results suggest that the use ofBt cotton should be evaluated carefully in China. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting April 30, 2004.     

Damage by pod‐sucking bugs on cowpea when intercropped with maize

Abstract

Agroecosystems in the tropics include growing two or more crops in diverse polycultural patterns. In Kenya, cowpea Vigna unguiculata (Walp.) is grown in combination with cereals such as maize and sorghum, perennial legumes such as pigeon peas and root crops such as cassava and sweet potatoes. In the present investigations, field experiments were conducted to study the incidence and damage caused by Clavigralla tomentoscollis Germ, and C. shadabi after flowering, on cowpea intercropped with maize. It was evident from the present studies that C. tomentoscollis and C. shadabi were more prevalent on cowpea during the first season rather than during the second season. Both species had a preference for feeding on cowpea intercropped with maize than when it was grown in pure stands. Consequently more pod damage was recorded on cowpea planted with maize. It was therefore concluded that this agricultural system, which is commonly practised by small‐scale farmers in Kenya, is undesirable from the point of view of bug damage.     

Relative resistance or susceptibility of maple (Acer) species,hybrids and cultivars to six arthropod pests of production nurseries

BACKGROUND: Maples (Acer spp.) in production nurseries are vulnerable to numerous arthropod pests that can stunt or even kill the young trees. Seventeen cultivars representing various Acer species and hybrids were evaluated for extent of infestation or injury by shoot and trunk borers (Proteoteras aesculana, Chrysobothris femorata), potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae), Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica), maple spider mite (Oligonychus aceris) and calico scale (Eulecanium cerasorum). Evaluations were done in replicated field plots in central and western Kentucky. RESULTS: All of the maples were susceptible, to varying degrees, to one or more key pest(s). Red maples (A. rubrum) were relatively vulnerable to potato leafhopper injury and borers but nearly free of Japanese beetle feeding and spider mites. Sugar maples sustained conspicuous Japanese beetle damage but had very low mite populations, whereas the opposite was true for Freeman maples (A. × freemanii). A. campestre was heavily infested by calico scale. Within each species or hybrid there were cultivar differences in degree of infestation or damage by particular pests. CONCLUSION: The results should help growers to focus pest management efforts on those plantings at greatest risk from particular pests, and to choose cultivars requiring fewer insecticide inputs to produce a quality tree. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

A review of pest surveillance techniques for detecting quarantine pests in Europe

This paper provides reviews of the most commonly used methods to detect plant pests belonging to groups of invasive organisms with high economic relevance, including Coleoptera (bark beetles, flathead borers, leaf beetles, longhorn beetles, weevils), Diptera (cone and seed flies, fruit flies), Homoptera (aphids, leafhoppers and psyllids, whiteflies), Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies), Thysanoptera (thrips), bacteria (potato brown rot Ralstonia solanacearum) and fungi (pitch canker disease Gibberella circinata, brown rot disease Monilinia fructicola). Future perspectives in detection methods are discussed, with particular reference to the considerable increase in the volume, commodity type and origins of trade in plant material from third countries, the introduction of new crops, the continuous expansion of the EU with new border countries being added, and the impact of climate change affecting the geographical boundaries of pests and their vectors.     

Bt Transgenic Crops: Risks and Benefits

Bt crops, predominantly maize and cotton hybrids, transgenically expressing cry genes derived from Bacillus thuringiensis, were planted on approximately 14 million hectares (worldwide) in 1999. Preliminary reports suggest that in most cases pesticide use was reduced, and in some situations there were significant increases in yields and profits. However, assemblages of secondary pests – such as aphids, plant bugs and thrips – also exist in Bt crops, and although the overall need for scouting and chemical control is reduced in Bt crops, there may be a requirement for additional, conventionally applied chemicals to control such non-target pests.Naturally-occurring Bt toxins with activity against a wide variety of pest species have been discovered and are thus potentially available for engineering into Bt crops to control a broader spectrum of pests than are currently targeted. New Bt crops and second-generation products incorporating an expanding range of Cry toxins and other arthropod targeted genes are in development and could become available for introduction to the market within the next few years.Insecticide resistance management (IRM) strategies for Bt crops are reviewed in the context of studies on selection pressures and the potential for resistance development in target populations. The so-called, high dose strategy, combined with the use of refuges, is widely agreed to be the best technical approach for managing resistance, and evidence is accumulating that separate refuges are more effective at conserving pest susceptibility than mixed refuges. A widespread consensus on the necessity for such measures, and an appreciation of the importance of multi-tactical approaches, has developed. Monitoring programmes, protocols and studies relevant to detecting the early development of resistance to Bt Cry toxins are described.Field monitoring of non-target entomofauna has not revealed significant differences in the abundance or biodiversity of beneficial insects associated with Bt maize. Indeed, laboratory studies of effects on parasitoids suggest that Bt plants may even have an environmental advantage over broad spectrum pesticides. However, more complex, multi-trophic, long-term experiments are needed to thoroughly assess the compatibility of Bt crops with non-target invertebrates and to define the complex relationship between IRM, target species and their natural enemy assemblages. Studies on the effects of transgenically-expressed Cry toxins on non-target insects, and their persistence in soil and on leaves, is reviewed. It is suggested that there is currently no generally agreed framework, or methodology, within which ad hoc experimental results can be accommodated, and each crop-transgene combination has to be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Studies proposing a conceptual approach to evaluating risks associated with Bt crops are highlighted and potential benefits and hazards are reviewed.     

我国豇豆蓟马研究进展及综合防控措施

豇豆Vigna unguiculata 喜温喜光,是一种适合在我国南方种植的豆科蔬菜。长期以来,豇豆病虫害多发重发,其中,蓟马是豇豆上最主要和最顽固的害虫之一。传统的化学防治方法对蓟马的防治效果常常不理想,并易造成农药残留问题。本文概述了我国豇豆产业的种植情况和以蓟马为主的病虫害问题及豇豆蓟马研究现状,并从农艺措施、理化诱控、生物防治、化学防治和抗性治理角度总结了豇豆蓟马的综合防治技术。最后,从构建豇豆蓟马的有害生物综合治理(integrated pest management, IPM)技术体系、加强基础研究和防控技术产品开发、建立科学用药和农药监管制度3个方面提出建议,以期为我国豇豆产业的绿色可持续发展提供参考。     

Integrated Soybean Pest Management in Micro River Basins in Brazil

A Soybean IPM system was deployed in large, continuous river basin areas. The system was designed to improve the productivity of the rural environment by restoring balance among pests and their natural enemies. The system was developed with the active participation of various governmental, industrial and academic institutions, and it was based on the main approaches utilized by the EMBRAPA soybean IPM program referred here as IPM-Soybean.The work of IPM-Soybean in microbasins is being implemented in five counties in Paraná state (Campo Mourão, Mamborê, Missal, Cambé and Toledo) in an area of approximately 18,020ha of soybean involving 343 producers at various stages of implementation. The results obtained in the Rio do Campo basin in Campo Mourão, after four years of IPM-Soybean, showed drastic changes in pest control practices. Mean number of insecticide applications per cropping year in the river basin fell from 2.8 (1993/94 season) to 1.23 four seasons later. Biological control of the velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis, by Baculovirus anticarsia increased 57%, from 205ha treated with this biological product in the 1993/94 season to 2730ha in 1998. A mean of about 300,000 Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) adults were released per year to control soybean stink bugs. As a consequence of the parasitoid release and the use of more selective insecticides, the number of insecticide applications to control stink bugs was significantly reduced. After two soybean seasons with IPM-Soybean in the river basin, mean applications for stink bugs decreased from 0.81 before the program started to 0.09 in 1996. The mean number of applications in the region and the state respectively were 9.20 and 11.44 times greater. In 1997 and 1998, the results again showed very low population densities of stink bugs in the river basin area, with a consequent reduction in insecticide applications for the control of these pests. Furthermore there was a substantial improvement in the range of products used in this area for soybean pest control. Broad spectrum products, used in 97.5% of the applications before start of IPM-Soybean (1993/94), were replaced with more selective products, especially biologicals and growth regulators. The latter had rarely been used by the river basin producers before the study (0.6% of the applications), but they accounted for 35.8% of the applications after four seasons with IPM-Soybean. IPM-Soybean developed in river basins has resulted in a more stable control system that, in turn, provides greater long-term equilibrium between the pests and the natural enemies populations in these soybean producing areas.     

Two years of trials with biological control programmes in all -year-round chrysanthemums1

In trials conducted in 1989 and 1990 in Kent and Worcestershire (England), an IPM programme for the range of pests of chrysanthemums was evaluated. The main target pest was Frankliniella occidentalis but biocontrols for Trialeurodes vaporariorum, aphids (mainly Myzus persicae) and Tetranychus urticae were also used. Anthocoris nemorum adults and nymphs collected from the wild gave good control of F. occidentalis in Kent in 1989 at the rate of 1 per 10 m₂ per week. In 1990 trials, A. nemorum also gave good thrips control at 1 per 20 m₂ per week, providing that thrips numbers were low at the start of the trial. Anthocorids also preyed on aphids, spider mites and whitefly scales. Lygocoris pabulinus was not affected by A. nemorum and caused some flower damage in the IPM trial. In the 1990 trial in Worcestershire, a combination of Verticillium lecanii (Mycotal) weekly sprays at 1 g litre^?1 of water and Neoseiulus cucumeris predators applied weekly at 50 per m₂ also gave good control of F. occidentalis. Conditions for the use of Mycotal were excellent, with humidity in the crop normally above 85% once the blackout screens were drawn. The effect of Mycotal was seen within 2 weeks on the whitefly population, as many infected adults and scales were found. No infected thrips were seen at any time, but it is thought that the Mycotal did have a significant effect upon the thrips population. N. cucumeris (Thripex-Koppert) did not establish well on chrysanthemums when applied in bran from a shaker bottle. However, this predator may establish in larger numbers when slow-release bags are used. Further work on this aspect is needed. The commercial availability of predatory bugs such as anthocorids or Orius spp. would undoubtedly increase the uptake of IPM methods by growers.     

Elevated humidities for control of chrysanthemum pests with Verticillium lecanii

Integrated pest control on chrysanthemum is now a possibility. Verticillium lecanii (Zimm.) Viegas is one of the key components as, under the right conditions, it will provide good control of pests such as aphids, thrips and whitefly. High humidity for a number of nights per week is critical for reliable pest control with this fungal pathogen. These conditions can be easily and safely obtained by fogging water over the crop at night. Four consecutive nights of high humidity per week or a cycle of two nights of high humidity and two nights ambient have given excellent pest control with no adverse effect to the crop.     

Integrated pest management in groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) in India

A large number of pests are associated with groundnut but not all are economically important. The distribution of, losses and damage caused by groundnut pests are discussed, along with a variety of control measures and methods for their integration for effective pest management. Disease resistant/tolerant varieties, including Girnar 1, ALR 1, ICGV 87160, ICGV 86590, DH 8, TG 3, MH 16, ICGS 37 and TAG 24 from India have been released for general cultivation and could be used in integrated pest management (IPM) programmes. A large number of advanced breeding lines possessing resistance to major diseases and insect pests have been identified. Biocontrol agents have been used successfully for insect and disease control. Intercrops such as pearlmillet and soybean suppress thrips, jassids and leaf miner; castor suppresses jassids and Spodoptera, and pigeonpea suppress early leaf spot, late leaf spot and rust. These plants act as traps or barriers for reducing pest incidence. The use of pheromone traps for gram pod borers, tobacco caterpillars and leaf miners, and the use of neem products against major insect pests and diseases, are novel approaches that may reduce the cost of groundnut production. If pest control measures are integrated in an optimum proportion and pest surveillance activity is strengthened further, maximum returns could be realized     

Biopesticide based sustainable pest management for safer production of vegetable legumes and brassicas in Asia and Africa

Vegetables are one of the important crops which could alleviate poverty and malnutrition among the smallholder farmers in tropical Asia and Africa. However, a plethora of pests limit the productivity of these crops, leading to economic losses. Vegetable producers overwhelmingly rely on chemical pesticides in order to reduce pest‐caused economic losses. However, over‐reliance on chemical pesticides poses serious threats to human and environmental health. Hence, biopesticides offer a viable alternative to chemical pesticides in sustainable pest management programs. Baculoviruses such as nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) and granulovirus (GV) have been exploited as successful biological pesticides in agriculture, horticulture and forestry. Maruca vitrata multiple nucleocapsid NPV (MaviMNPV) was found to be a unique baculovirus specifically infecting pod borer on food legumes, and it has been successfully developed as a biopesticide in Asia and Africa. Entomopathogenic fungi also offer sustainable pest management options. Several strains of Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana have been tested and developed as biopesticides in Asia and Africa. This review specifically focuses on the discovery and development of entomopathogenic virus and fungi‐based biopesticides against major pests of vegetable legumes and brassicas in Asia and Africa. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Insect Pests of Soyabean in Japan and their Control

Abstract

From thirty species of economic importance, the biology, damage caused and control measures for three pod borers, one pod gallmidge and four stink bugs are reviewed. Some high correlations have been recognised between the percentage of injured seed at harvest time and the mean temperatures of January, July or August, and some equations have been obtained for forecasting the percentage of the damage to soyabean seeds. The late podding varieties are generally less damaged by major pests. Even in one variety, damage decreased when sowing was delayed. Hence consideration should be given to the choice of variety and sowing date in order to avoid the coincidence of the peak of pest occurrence with the podding period of the soyabean plants. In the central southern region of the Tohoku district where all species of economic importance occur, insecticidal applications should be carried out when indicated by the forecast, two or three times at intervals of one to two weeks, during early pod-setting and on to the middle seed-thickening stage, using such insecticides as: fenthion, cyanophos, fenitrothion, phenthoate, acephate, chlorpyrifos or EPN.