The pumpkin fly Dacus frontalis (Diptera: Tephritidae): a new pest of curcubits in Tunisia

The pumpkin fly Dacus frontalis is reported in this paper for the first time in Tunisia, where it was found in several locations. It is a pest of cucurbits of economic importance and is common especially in the eastern and southern parts of Africa. D. frontalis was collected from infested cucumber fruits in the region of El‐Jebil (Kairouan) and female bait traps for the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata and the olive fly Bactrocera oleae. Preliminary data from Tunisia suggest that D. frontalis is already established in four regions in which cucurbits are important crops. Brief notes on the diagnostic features for the species, its ecology and geographic distribution are given. Symptoms on cucumber from Tunisia are presented.     

Seroprevalence and risk factors of Coxiella burnetii infection in cattle in northeast Algeria

Tropical Animal Health and Production - A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence and the risk factors associated with C. burnetii infection in cattle in the state of...     

Assessing solid waste compost application as a practical approach for salt-affected soil reclamation

Abstract

A short-term pot experiment was made to evaluate the effectiveness of municipal solid waste compost amendment on salt-affected soil. Hordeum maritimum plants were cultivated in pots filled with a clay-loam soil containing 0 or 40 t ha^?1 of compost and irrigated with tap water at 0 or 4 g l^?1 NaCl. Soil properties and heavy metal (Zn^{2 +}, Pb^{2 +}, Cd^{2 +}) accumulation were investigated. Municipal solid waste compost application significantly increased the soil contents of carbon, nitrogen and potassium under both non-saline and saline conditions. Soil heavy metal concentrations increased substantially too, but the recorded values were below the toxicity limits. Interestingly, plants subjected to the salt–compost interaction were more vigorous, compared with those grown on non-amended soil. Altogether, our data indicate that short-term utilization of municipal solid waste compost at 40 t ha^?1 may be of potential interest in the perspective of the rehabilitation of salt-affected soils. Yet, it must be stressed that the present findings are preliminary and need to be further evaluated under field conditions before practical recommendations can be inferred.     

Flag Leaf Senescence, as Evaluated by Numerical Image Analysis, and its Relationship with Yield under Drought in Durum Wheat

Senescence was evaluated at different stages of the grain‐filling period in eight durum wheat varieties using numerical image analysis (NIA). The varieties were grown under early, severe drought conditions on the high plains of Sétif in Algeria. After flowering, three different irrigation treatments were applied. Treatment effect was small, while a genotypic effect was noted for most of the senescence parameters. Senescence correlated to biomass, while the maximal rate of senescence, V_smax, correlated to thousand‐kernel weight. The potential of the method of numerical image analysis for monitoring flag leaf senescence, detecting genotypic variability and selecting genotypes with delayed senescence is discussed.     

The black fig fly Silba adipata (Diptera: Lonchaeidae) as an emerging pest in Tunisia: preliminary data on geographic distribution,bioecology and damage

Phytoparasitica - Frugivorous fruit flies are considered among the most damaging pests of cultivated fruit crops. The most studied ones are those belonging to the Tephritidae family such as the...     

Response of the tomato miner Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) to thirteen insecticides in semi‐natural conditions in Tunisia

Experiments on larvicide and ovicide activity of 13 insecticides in semi‐natural conditions showed a medium to low efficacy of bio‐insecticides on all instars of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) except for Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner var. kurstaki which was distinguished by an average mortality of 72.5%. Spinosad and Spinetoram based insecticides showed high efficiency in controlling all instars of larvae with respectively an average mortality of 66.5% and 85.6%. However, this study revealed a unique ovicide effect of azadirachtin‐neem oil based insecticide with 43.8% egg mortality.     

Interactive effects of salinity and potassium availability on growth,water status,and ionic composition of Hordeum maritimum

The interactive effects of salinity and potassium (K⁺) availability on biomass production, water status, and ionic composition were investigated in Hordeum maritimum, an annual grass growing natively on saline soils. Plants were grown for 7 weeks on Hewitt nutrient solution supplied with NaCl (0, 100, 150, 200, and 300 mM) combined with low (0.232 mM) or high (5.8 mM) K⁺ levels. Independent of potassium availability, dry matter of both roots and shoots decreased consistently with increasing NaCl levels in the culture medium, in association with a significant reduction of the shoot water content. This salt‐induced growth reduction did not result from a restriction of K⁺ nutrition, since H. maritimum expressed similar growth under both low and high K⁺ supply. NaCl decreased shoot K⁺ concentrations. This effect was more pronounced in plants grown at high K⁺ supply than in plants grown at low K⁺ supply. This result suggests that the absorption systems were strongly selective for K⁺, and that this selectivity was enhanced by salt.     

Detection of Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) using trimedlure versus enriched ginger oil in citrus orchards

Abstract

Successful fruit fly control requires effective monitoring to make pest management decisions. Ceratitis capitata (Medfly) is typically monitored in Tunisia with parapheromone commercialised as trimedlure (TM). Chemical treatment is applied when the economic threshold (3 flies/trap/day) is reached. In this study, C. capitata populations in a commercial citrus orchard captured in McPhail traps baited with TM or enriched ginger oil (EGO) were compared over two seasons (2011 and 2012). Females of C. capitata were not attracted to TM or EGO. Trimedlure was significantly more attractive to C. capitata males than EGO under low and high population densities over sampling dates. The TM used in McPhail traps was adequate to attract male medflies in citrus orchards under a wide range of Medfly population levels. The use of the best attractant can help to make control decisions when population levels of flies are low, thus preventing unnecessary application of insecticides and/or other control methods.     

Pollinia pollini (Costa, 1857) (Hemiptera,Asterolecaniidae) infesting olive trees: a first record in Tunisia

During January 2019, mealybugs were observed on branches of olive trees (Olea europaea, L.) for the first time at Nebeur and Charket Saboune (Governorate-Kef, Tunisia). Samples were collected and brought to the laboratory for identification. The mealybug species was identified based on its morphological characteristics as Pollinia pollini (Costa, 1857) (Hemiptera, Asterolecanidae). This is the first report of this species in Tunisia.