Ovipositional responses of the pulse beetle, Bruchus chinensis (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) to extracts and compounds of Capparis decidua

Extracts of Capparis decidua stems and flowers showed insecticidal and oviposition inhibitory activities against Bruchus chinensis. The LC50 values of these extracts were found to increase with the increase in the polarity of the extract at different exposure periods. For instance, after 96 h, the LC50 values were found to be 3.619, 7.319, and 10.151 microg for CD1, CD2, and CD3, respectively. Extract CD7 was effective only at higher doses. The toxicity was found to be dose- and time-dependent. The females laid lesser number of eggs, when exposed to sublethal doses of different extracts and pure compounds, as compared to control. The maximum oviposition deterrence index was found for extract CD1 followed in decreasing order by CD2, CD3, and CD7. From extract CD1, two compounds were isolated and characterized as triacontanol (C1) and 2-carboxy-1,1-dimethylpyrrolidine (C2). When the females were exposed to sublethal doses of these compounds, they laid lesser number of eggs as compared to the control. C2 was found to have a slightly greater oviposition inhibition effect than C1. From fraction CD7, one novel compound labeled as CDF1 has been isolated and identified as 6-(1-hydroxy-non-3-enyl)tetrahydropyran-2-one. CDF1 has also shown insecticidal and oviposition inhibitory activities against B. chinensis at low concentrations.     

Interspecific hybridization between rice bean (Vigna umbellata) and its wild relative (V. minima): Fertility-sterility relationships

Summary The pre-and post-fertilization barriers in the interspecific crosses between Vigna umbellata and V. minima were investigated. In the reciprocal crosses (V. minima as the parent) the entry of pollen tubes into the ovary was delayed by about 4 h, and no seed set was observed. However, no pre-fertilization barriers were encountered in crosses involving V. minima as the parent and V. umbellata as the parent (normal cross). The delay/absence of divisions in the endosperm and the failure of embryo to divide were the post-fertilization barriers responsible for somatoplastic sterility in normal crosses which yielded a few hybrid seeds. The hybrid seeds showed poor germinability. The F₁ hybrids were intermediate between the parents in most morphological characters, and are completely sterile for pollen. Backcrossing of F₁ hybrid with both the parents did not restore fertility in the progenies. V. minima is considered as the tertiary gene pool of the rice bean.     

Crude Bacillus thuringiensis pellets efficiently combats Eutetranychus orientalis,the spider mite

This study demonstrates the efficacy of the crude pellet of Bacillus thuringiensis subs. kurstaki (Btk) obtained by SmF or SSF to combat Eutetranychus orientalis Klein. For bioassay, the mites were collected from infested leaves of Vigna unguiculata and Moringa oleifera, and reared by leaf-disc method employing artificial feeding system. In terms of LC₅₀ values, the crude Btk-toxin (probit: 9.51 mg/mL) obtained by SSF was 2.2-fold more efficient in killing E. orientalis than that of SmF (probit: 22 mg/mL). For the efficacy trial with potted plants, 10 mg crude Btk-toxin obtained by SSF was directly sprayed on the infested plants (V. unguiculata), which completely eliminated the mites from the infested plants within 12 days of treatment. In comparison, the survival rate of mites which received Btk-toxin from SSF was significantly (P < 0.0001) lesser than those received Btk-toxin from SmF. In this first report, apart from the efficiency of Btk-toxin in solid-fermented matter to deter the mites without supplementing any adhesive or surfactant in the diet, a feeding system for its rearing in the laboratory coupled with bioassay was also demonstrated.     

Variation in root penetration ability, osmotic adjustment and dehydration tolerance among accessions of rice adapted to rainfed lowland and upland ecosystems

Drought is the major constraint limiting rainfed rice production. The ability of rice roots to penetrate compacted soils and therefore to increase water extraction capacity, osmotic adjustment and dehydration tolerance of leaves enables the plant to tolerate drought. Experiments were conducted to determine the extent of genetic variation in root penetration index, osmotic adjustment and dehydration tolerance among indica accessions adapted to rainfed lowlands as well as traditional varieties from rainfed uplands. Root penetration index was evaluated in a system using wax–petrolatum layers to simulate soil compaction. Osmotic adjustment and dehydration tolerance were studied under slow development of water stress. Substantial genetic variation was found for root penetration index, osmotic adjustment and dehydration tolerance among indica ecotypes from lowlands, and the study of several traditional varieties from uplands showed variation in root penetration index and related root traits. An indica accession, IR58821‐23‐B‐1‐2‐1 had a high root penetration index of 0.38. The accessions, IR61079‐33‐1‐2‐2‐3, IR62266‐42‐6‐2 and IR63919‐38‐B‐1 had high osmotic adjustment capacities (1.91, 1.90 and 1.78 MPa, respectively); IR61079‐33‐1‐2‐2‐3 also had high dehydration tolerance. Good osmotic adjustment and dehydration tolerance were associated with poor root system. The traditional varieties ‘Kallurundaikar’ and ‘Norungan’ had higher root penetration indices (0.46 and 0.43, respectively), than even the japonica accessions. The study identified indica accessions and traditional varieties with superior root‐ and shoot‐related drought resistance traits that could be used in breeding for drought resistance in rice.     

Differential responses of macrophages to Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis and Typhimurium

Macrophages are major effectors against Salmonella infection, and also transport bacteria between host tissues and provide a protected site for intracellular bacterial replication. We hypothesized that differences in chicken macrophage responses to Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (SE) and serovar Typhimurium (ST) played a role in preferential infection of eggs by SE compared with ST. To test this hypothesis, we determined bacterial phagocytosis and intracellular viability and macrophage nitric oxide (NO) production following in vitro infection with SE or ST in the presence or absence of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma). The effects of bacterial components, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), outer membrane proteins (OMP) and flagella, on NO production were also assessed. Our results showed: (1) in the presence or absence of IFN-gamma, the percentage macrophages phagocytizing SE and ST was similar; (2) the number of intracellular viable SE was significantly reduced compared with ST in the presence or absence of IFN-gamma; (3) increased macrophage necrosis was seen in the presence of IFN-gamma and ST; (4) Salmonella infection acted synergistically with IFN-gamma in induction of nitric oxide production; and (5) in the absence of IFN-gamma, macrophages produced significantly greater NO following treatment with SE outer membrane protein or flagella compared with ST OMP or flagella, while in the presence of IFN-gamma significantly less NO was produced following treatment with SE-LPS compared with ST-LPS. These results suggest that differential responses of chicken macrophages to SE versus ST may result in increased macrophage death with ST, which could result in an increased inflammatory response as compared to SE.     

Effects of fructooligosaccharide-inulin on Salmonella-killing and inflammatory gene expression in chicken macrophages

Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) is one of the leading causes of food-borne salmonellosis, and macrophages play an essential role in eliminating this pathogen. Among the interventions to improve Salmonella clearance in chickens are the use of prebiotics and direct fed microbials (DFM) in animal feed as they have immunomodulatory effects. Therefore, we tested the influence of a prebiotic fructooligosaccharide (FOS)-inulin on the ability of the chicken macrophage HD11 cell line to phagocytose and kill SE, and express selected inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in an in vitro model. There were significantly fewer viable intracellular SE in HD11 cells treated with FOS-inulin than the untreated cells. However, SE phagocytosis, nitric oxide expression or production were not influenced by the prebiotic treatment. Among the inflammatory markers tested, IL-1β expression was significantly lower in HD11 cells treated with FOS-inulin. These results suggest that FOS-inulin has the ability to modulate the innate immune system as shown by the enhanced killing of SE and decreased inflammasome activation.     

Evaluation of fipronil nanoformulations for effective management of brown plant hopper (Nilaparvata lugens) in rice

In this paper, we report the development, characterization and bioefficacy evaluation of fipronil nanoformulations against brown plant hopper (BPH); Nilaparvata lugens in rice. Nanoformulations were characterized for nanosizing and stability under variable conditions. Bioefficacy of nanoformulations were evaluated under field condition at farms of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi during Kharif 2015. At milking stage BPH populations were above economic threshold level; followed by foliar application of fipronil nanoformulations at four doses (viz., 30, 45, 60 and 90 g a.i./ha) along with commercial formulation of fipronil. The mean mortality clearly indicated that all the insecticidal treatments were significantly superior over untreated control where, highest mortalities were observed in nanodispersions followed by monolithic dispersion and commercial formulation of fipronil. Treated plots 7 days after application @ 60 g a.i./ha has shown 93.47%, 86.89% and 80.47% reduction BPH population in nanodispersion, encapsulated monolithic dispersion and commercial formulation treated plots respectively. In comparison to commercial formulation @ 60 g a.i./ha yield has increased by 0.56 t ha^?1 (28.76%) and 0.26 t ha^?1 (14.04%) in nanodispersion and monolithic dispersion.     

Vapor-phase toxicity of Derris scandens Benth.-derived constituents against four stored-product pests

The vapor-phase toxicity of Derris scandens Benth.-derived constituents was evaluated against four stored-product pests ( Callosobruchus chinensis L., Sitophilus oryzae L., Rhyzopertha dominica L., and Tribolium castaneum H.) using fumigation bioassays and compared to those of commonly used insecticides. The structures of all constituents of were characterized by spectroscopic analyses [nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and mass spectrometry]. The sensitivity of the test insect to compounds varied with exposure time, concentration, and insect species. Over 100% mortality after 24 h was achieved with the compounds osajin (2), scandinone (5), sphaerobioside (8), and genistein (9) against all of the test insects, while laxifolin (3) and lupalbigenin (4) showed 100% mortality after 72 h against T. csataneum and R. dominica . Scandenone (1), scandenin A (6), and scandenin (7) were less effective. Among the insects, C. chinensis , S. oryzae , and R. dominica were more susceptible to the treatments, whereas T. castaneum was less susceptible. The results of fumigation tests indicated that compounds from D. scandens whole plant extract are potential candidates to control stored-product pests.