In vivo and in vitro metabolism of fipronil by larvae of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis

In vivo and in vitro metabolism of [14C]fipronil was examined in a susceptible European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis, Hübner) laboratory strain. [14C]Fipronil penetrated the larval integument slowly, with 71.5% of the applied radioactivity recovered from surface rinses 24 h after topical application. Despite this slow penetration, radioactivity was detected in both the excrement and internal organo-soluble fractions. Radioactivity in the internal aqueous fraction and tissue pellet accounted for less than 0.8% of total radioactivity. The in vivo studies suggest that fipronil oxidation to its sulfone metabolite is the major route of metabolic conversion. In vitro studies were performed using subcellular microsomal fractions isolated from European corn borer larval midguts. Cytochrome P450-dependent monooxygenase activity (methoxyresorufin O-demethylase) was consistently observed in midgut preparations, and formation and detection of the sulfone metabolite in the same midgut preparations was also NADPH-dependent and inhibited by piperonyl butoxide. In vitro metabolism results indicate microsomal monooxygenases are responsible for the conversion of fipronil to its sulfone form in the European corn borer.     

Inhibition of pheromone response in Sesamia nonagrioides by the pheromone of the sympatric corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis

Sesamia nonagrioides Lef. and Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübn.) are two corn borers present in the Mediterranean area that share a similar feeding habitat. The female sex pheromones of the two species consist of (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate, (Z)-11-hexadecen-1-ol, (Z)-11-hexadecenal and dodecyl acetate (77:8:10:5 w/w) and (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate and (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (97:3 w/w) respectively. Although the pheromones share no common components, previous work had shown the inhibition of the response by O. nubilalis males to their own pheromone owing to the presence of S. nonagrioides pheromone. In this study, the pheromone of O. nubilalis and its two components separately were shown to inhibit the attraction of S. nonagrioides males to the synthetic female pheromone in both laboratory wind-tunnel bioassay and field trapping studies. In the wind tunnel, the number of contacts of S. nonagrioides males with the source were significantly (P < 0.05) reduced by the single pheromone components of O. nubilalis. In the field, the addition of 1% of O. nubilalis pheromone significantly (P < 0.05) reduced the catches of S. nonagrioides males. The components of both pheromones also elicited electroantennographic responses from antennae of male S. nonagrioides moths. The ecological consequences and the possibilities of applying this cross-inhibition for mating disruption techniques are discussed.     

玉米雌穗挥发物对亚洲玉米螟幼虫取食选择的影响

为了探明玉米雌穗挥发物组成及其对亚洲玉米螟(Ostrinia furnacalis)幼虫取食行为的影响,本研究利用顶空吸附法及气相色谱/质谱联用技术(GC/MS)测定了离体玉米雌穗的挥发物组分,并通过幼虫取食选择试验测定了11种玉米雌穗挥发物在4个不同浓度下(5×10-6、5×10-5、5×10-4、5×10-3g/mL,正己烷为溶剂)对亚洲玉米螟取食行为的影响。结果表明:从离体玉米雌穗中共计收集并鉴定出32种挥发物组分,主要包括绿叶气味物质、萜类化合物和脂肪族化合物。其中,萜类化合物的含量最高,占玉米雌穗挥发物总释放量的84.40%。在所有测定的浓度范围内,β-石竹烯、十四烷表现为引诱活性,壬醛表现为驱避作用。除浓度为5×10-3 g/mL外,癸烷、反-罗勒烯、6-甲基-5-庚烯-2-酮对幼虫取食表现为引诱作用。     

Topical, residual and ovicidal contact toxicity of three reduced-risk insecticides against the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), on potato

BACKGROUND: The goal of the research was to gather efficacy data required to introduce reduced-risk insecticides in sustainable control programs for European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis Hubner, on potato. RESULTS: Laboratory tests confirmed that sprays of indoxacarb and novaluron at recommended field rates are as effective as spinosad against neonate larvae of O. nubilalis. However, there is evidence that higher rates would enhance the inhibition of chitin synthesis by novaluron. The three insecticides showed ovilarvicidal activity when applied to O. nubilalis egg masses 2 days prior to black head stage. The ovicidal activity of spinosad and novaluron was almost twice that of indoxacarb. At the recommended field rates, the residues of the three insecticides displayed contact toxicity to O. nubilalis larvae. Spinosad residues 16 h old or less provided the highest immediate (24 h after exposure) contact mortality, followed by indoxacarb and then by novaluron. Also, residues of spinosad had faster contact efficacy than indoxacarb, which had faster efficacy than novaluron. CONCLUSION: Spinosad, indoxacarb and novaluron have ovicidal properties, which could enhance O. nubilalis management programs. However, the contact residual toxicity is limited in duration and would likely only play a minor role in O. nubilalis control.     

我国赤眼蜂工厂化繁育技术改进及防治农业害虫应用现状

自20世纪50年代,我国即开始系统研究赤眼蜂的人工繁育与田间释放应用技术,在适于赤眼蜂规模化繁殖的中间寄主种类研究与应用方面取得了举世瞩目的成就。近几年,我国在利用大卵(柞蚕卵)和小卵(米蛾卵)为中间寄主工厂化繁育赤眼蜂技术方面取得了一些进展。本文从大卵繁蜂涉及的配套生产设备、生产工艺以及小卵繁蜂过程中的幼虫人工饲料配方、饲养盘和成蛾收集技术方面取得的进展进行了归纳,并介绍了一次长效放蜂技术和大、小卵蜂混合释放技术在玉米螟和水稻二化螟防治的应用。2004年以来,吉林省累计推广松毛虫赤眼蜂防治玉米螟近1300万hm²,我国在推广应用赤眼蜂防治农业害虫方面取得巨大成功。最后,对赤眼蜂工厂化生产中存在的技术问题以及发展方向进行了探讨。     

Evaluation of entomopathogenic nematodes for biocontrol of the european corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis, on sweet corn in Israel

The potential of entomopathogenic nematodes for biological control of the European corn borer (ECB),Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner), was evaluated under laboratory, screenhouse and field conditions. The ‘All’ and ‘Mexican’ strains ofSteinernema carpocapsae (Weiser) and the ‘HP88’ strain ofHeterorhabditis bacteriophora Poinar were compared in both dose response assays (5, 50 and 500 infective juveniles [IJ] per petri dish containing five 5th-instar ECB eggs; 72 h of incubation) and exposure time assays (3, 6 and 9 h of incubation). In the dose response assays the highest rates of ECB killing resulted from infestation with the Mexican strain ofS. carpocapsae. In the exposure time assays there were no significant differences between the killing rates of the three nematode strains. Sweet corn plants(Zea mays var.saccharata) grown in a screenhouse, were infested with ECB neonates and 4 days later sprayed with a suspension of the Mexican strain ofS. carpocapsae (50,000 IJ per plant). The number of ECB larvae found on treated corn plants after one week was significantly (P=0.05) lower (3- to 5-fold) than the number found on untreated plants. Similar treatment in the field significantly reduced the rate of economic ear damage from 20% to 5%. Contribution from the Agricultural Research Organization. No. 2260-E, 1997 series     

Survey on the prevalence of Rhizoctonia spp. in European soils and determination of the baseline sensitivity towards sedaxane

The prevalence of Rhizoctonia spp. in European soils was determined by analysing soil samples from 282 locations. Rhizoctonia spp. were found in 68% of these samples from France, Germany, the UK, Poland, Italy, Spain, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Samples from 136 locations were further analysed by pyrosequencing. Seventy‐six percent of the isolates were Rhizoctonia solani and 24% binucleate Rhizoctonia spp. Rhizoctonia solani anastomosis group (AG) 5 was detected most frequently (25%), followed by AG 9 (16%) and AG 4 (13%). For the binucleate Rhizoctonia spp., AG E was most prevalent (13%). Rhizoctonia cerealis was not detected in soil samples. Soil type or cropping history had no effect on the type of Rhizoctonia observed. Rhizoctonia solani AG 5 was the most frequently detected AG irrespective of the previous crop. The spectrum of AGs detected was similar for France, Germany and Poland but was significantly different for the UK (P = 0·0016). Finally, the baseline sensitivity towards sedaxane, a new active ingredient for seed treatment, was analysed for all isolates. The results indicate a low baseline sensitivity (average EC₅₀ of 0·028 p.p.m.) for all Rhizoctonia AGs. No difference in sensitivity was observed with the isolates obtained from different countries.     

Farm‐scale evaluation of herbicide band application integrated with inter‐row mechanical weeding for maize production in four European regions

To promote integrated weed management (IWM) implementation in Europe, robust evidence on the sustainability of such tools and strategies is needed to motivate their adoption by stakeholders. This can only be achieved through assessing and validating them at real farm scale and using existing farm equipment, under diverse climatic and soil conditions representative of European agriculture. In 2013 and 2014, 12 on‐farm experiments (i.e. real field conditions on commercial farms, with natural weed flora) were conducted in four important European grain maize‐producing regions comparing the efficacy of herbicide band application integrated with inter‐row mechanical weeding as a potential IWM tool with the conventional broadcast herbicide application (CON) used by the farms. The IWM tools tested were as follows: (i) early post‐emergence herbicide band application combined with hoeing, followed by a second hoeing in southern Germany, (ii) early post‐emergence herbicide band application followed by hoeing in eastern Hungary and central Slovenia and (iii) pre‐emergence herbicide band application followed by hoeing in northern Italy. Herbicide band application integrated with hoeing provided good and partial weed control along and between maize rows respectively. No significant yield differences were detected between IWM and CON. IWM greatly reduced herbicide input and was economically sustainable over the duration of this study with no significant difference in gross margin compared with CON in all cases. This IWM tool could therefore be considered for implementation in European maize systems.