Resistance to foliage-feeding insects in conifers: implications for pest management

The ecological implications of insect resistance in conifers are rarely discussed. It is however a fairly straightforward plant-insect interaction and should be treated as such, making use of the increasing amount of information in this field. Work on tree breeding is usually carried out by silviculturalists who, not surprisingly, rarely consider the insect component of the environment in which the treess are growing. In all fairness, it must be stated that many entomologists, fail to consider the plant component of the interaction. Clonal forestry will almost certainly result in the loss of genetic variability. The use of clonal material has already been cited as a possible source for the diminution of the resistance against pests and diseases and if particular resistance mechanisms against forest pests are sought in the future the reduction in genetic material caused by clonal selection could have serious consequences. The ethics of clonal forestry have been questioned as have the ethics of biotechnological advances in the area of recombinant DNA molecules. The potential of both these techniques should be publicized and brought to the attention of the general public and the scientific community at large and evaluated. To improve our forest environment and to protect the environment as a whole, entomologists, geneticists, physiologists and silviculturalists must work together to produce better trees that require little, if any, chemical aid, be it insecticides, herbicides, fungicides or fertilizers. An increasing awareness of the environmental problems generated by large-scale insecticide applications to forest plantations, coupled with an increasingly chemophobic work-force and the difficulty in obtaining pesticide registration for use in forest environments, means that the forest industry world-wide must look to the use of integrated control measures with more diligence than has been shown in the past. Many recent outbreaks of pests and diseases have been linked with particular seed origins of tree crops. Host plant resistance as part of a suite of other proposed integrated control tools is thus an obvious candidate for development. Despite this, scientists concerned with tree improvement continue to select largely for silvicultural traits rather than for resistance to pests and disease. The different avenues open to plant breeders are examined and the potential of breeding trees resistant to insect attack highlighted. Using resistant trees as part of an integrated pest management system has five very important properties. Firstly, there is no additional pest control cost to the grower, secondly, it operates at all levels of insect incidence and not just when the pest is at high population levels, thirdly, it reduces the insect population cumulatively, fourthly it avoids toxic residues and environmental pollution and, finally, it usually interacts well with the other integrated pest management strategies in existence.     

Biological characteristics of maize dwarf mosaic potyvirus from Spain

Two isolates of maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV-Sp and MDMV-Spl) obtained from maize in the northeast of Spain were studied. Both isolates induced similar reactions on 6 sorghum cultivars, johnsongrass and oat (cv. Clintland), with the exception of MDMV-Sp which produced a different reaction on one sorghum cultivar. Thirty-three grass species were tested as possible hosts (16 previously untested) and 18 were found to be susceptible. Among those, eight were previously unidentified hosts for MDMV:Aegilops ovata, A. ventricosa, Avena barbata, Bromus alopecurus, B. diandrus, B. fasciculatus, Echinaria capitata andLolium rigidum. Both isolates were transmitted from maize to maize nonpersistently byRhopalosiphum maidis, R. padi, Schizaphis graminum andSitobium avenae. The virus was not seed-transmitted in Mo17 and B73 maize inbred lines. Pinwheels, scrolls and short curved laminated aggregates were observed in the cytoplasm of maize cells infected by MDMV-Sp or MDMV-Sp1. In addition, laminated aggregates were observed in cells infected by MDMV-Sp1.     

应用赤眼蜂蛹人工饲养尼氏钝绥螨的研究初报

本文首次报导应用赤眼蜂蛹作为替代食料人工饲养尼氏钝绥螨。日食蛹量,幼螨为0.18头,产卵前期成螨达1.18头,而产卵期成螨则为0.95头左右。在25℃饲养条件下,每雌产卵达45粒,卵历期48小时,孵化率近92％,幼螨存活率88％,成螨雌性占55％,雌成螨寿命25天。用赤眼蜂蛹连代饲养的尼氏钝绥螨在桔园释放,对柑桔全爪螨具有明显的控制作用。     

稚蚕人工饲料中桑绿枝粉的添加效果及加工特点

在家蚕稚蚕人工饲料中分别添加 15 %的桑绿枝粉、冬桑条粉、桑皮粉等 ,并与豆腐渣、市售纤维素粉末等进行了对照试验 ,结果以添加桑绿枝粉的稚蚕人工饲料各项成绩最为理想 ,稚蚕对其有良好的摄食性 ,从而为研制稚蚕低成本人工饲料开辟了新的原料来源     

Greenhouse and field screening of wild<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lycopersicon</Emphasis> germplasm for resistance to the whitefly<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bemisia argentifolii</Emphasis>

Thirty-two accessions of wild tomato (Lycopersicon spp.) germplasm were evaluated for resistance to the whiteflyBemisia argentifolii Bellows ⇐p; Perring in a greenhouse choice bioassay. Density data were recorded for the adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces for (i) all life stages ofB. argentifolii and (ii) types I, IV, V and VI trichomes. Individual plant selections (33 from 22 wild tomato accessions) with high resistance were subsequently tested in the field to verify the resistance found in the greenhouse screening. Resistance was defined by the density of all life stages of the whitefly observed on the eight leaflets sampled at nodes 5 and 7. Only type IV trichomes had a consistent (but low) and significant negative correlation between trichome density and whitefly density for various life stages. The highest whitefly resistance was observed inLycopersicon pennellii accessions LA 716, LA 1340 and LA 2560. The most resistantL. hirsutum f.typicum accessions were LA 1777 and LA 1353. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Dec. 9, 2002.     

A Severe Hellenic CMV Tomato Isolate: Symptom Variability in Tobacco, Characterization and Discrimination of Variants

A severe strain of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) originating from an infected tomato plant (Gastouni-Olympia, Greece) was isolated in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Xanthi nc), after three serial local lesion passages in Chenopodium quinoa and designated CMV-G. CMV-G induces yellow mosaic (YM) symptoms in tobacco. When CMV-G was passed mechanically through C. quinoa, phenotypic variants inducing YM or green mild mosaic (MM) in tobacco were isolated. Aphid transmission, from different hosts, appears to be an effective approach for separating MM variants of CMV-G from YM variants. In particular, aphid transmission from zucchini proved to be very efficient in selecting for MM variants. In contrast, aphids transmitted only YM variants from tomato plants. Molecular characterization of CMV-G and its progeny resulted in their classification in the CMV subgroup IB, free of satellite RNA, being the first discovery of the subgroup IB in Greece. In the Solanaceae family (tobacco, tomato, pepper) YM variants induced more severe symptoms than the MM variants. YM and MM phenotype was stable in tobacco for all seven passages tried using the obtained YM and MM variants. Cross-protection experiments showed that an isolated MM variant was able to protect tobacco plants against a challenge infection by a YM variant.     

春臀钩土蜂两个地理种和日本丽金龟臀钩土蜂搜索能力的比较

利用“Y”型选择器和草地寄主搜寻试验，就春臀钩土蜂两个品系和日本丽金龟瞥钩土蜂对日本金龟子的搜索能力进行了比较。结果表明，两种土蜂的3个品系对日本金龟子3龄幼虫的存在与否没有表现出明显的辨别能力。虫粪对土蜂搜索寄主有一定的引导作用，但日本丽金龟臀钩土蜂的趋性没有春臀钩土蜂明显。寄主虫体气味与虫粪混合存在比只有虫粪存在更能吸引土蜂。土蜂可以在相隔两个侧臂20cm的距离内感知金龟子幼虫的存在；当寄主与非寄主金龟子同时存在时，不能辨别出寄主；但能通过虫粪辨认寄主所在方向。春臀钩土蜂两个品系对日本金龟子幼虫气味表现出极强的趋性。日本丽金龟臀钩土蜂则受非寄主幼虫气味干扰。草地寄主搜寻试验表明，春臀钩土蜂CH—SD品系仅搜索内开口隧道内幼虫；A—NC品系对隧道的开口没有表现出特殊的选择性。67．5％雌蜂能够感知寄主幼虫的存在并自行挖洞搜索。寄主粪便可以引导土蜂从人工隧道开口进入。网罩内草地上的虫粪可以干扰土蜂对地下寄主位置的判断。     

薇甘菊柄锈菌生物学及其寄主专一性

在检疫温室条件下对外来入侵植物薇甘菊的寄生菌——薇甘菊柄锈菌的生物学及其寄主专化性进行了研究。结果表明，薇甘菊柄锈菌可以侵染植物叶片和叶柄等营养器官。受侵染部位起始出现褪绿斑，12～15d，自叶背产生黄色冬孢子堆，并逐步坏死和脱落，最终致寄主死亡。冬孢子黄至暗褐色，包埋在寄主组织中，无明显休眠期。高湿条件下，冬孢子易萌发产生担孢子进行再侵染。采用悬挂法对29个科、62个属的72种植物进行了寄主专化性测定，结果表明，薇甘菊柄锈菌在菊科植物天门冬、紫茎泽兰、向日葵、地胆草上形成褪绿斑，但未发现菌丝和吸器。薇甘菊柄锈菌可成功侵染薇甘菊和同属植物假泽兰。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Amaranthus leaf mottle virus</Emphasis>: 3′-end RNA sequence proves classification as distinct virus and reveals affinities within the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Potyvirus</Emphasis>

Amaranthus leaf mottle virus (AmLMV) was classified as a member of the genus Potyvirus on the basis of its particle morphology, serology, and biological properties (Casetta et al., 1986). Based on these properties, an Amaranthus viridis-infecting virus isolated in Spain, causing mottle and leaf blistering as well as reduced growth has been identified as AmLMV. The 3′ terminal genomic region of this and a reference isolate from Italy has been sequenced and reveals a 95% nucleotide identity between the two isolates. The sequenced part comprises the coat protein with 281 amino acids and 315 nucleotides of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) preceding a polyadenylated tail. Pairwise comparisons and phylogenetic analysis of the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the CP and 3′ UTR of the cloned cDNAs with those of other potyviruses shows that AmLMV is a distinct potyvirus closely related to Potato virus Y.     

Variability in response to toosendanin in a laboratory colony of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Trichoplusia ni</Emphasis>

Laboratory rearing of insects for scientific research ensures a constant supply of insects. However, laboratory colonies may diverge genetically and/or phenotypically from wild populations due to selection pressures in their artificial environment. This study examined how variation in a colony ofTrichoplusia ni influenced reproducibility over time of bioassays of toosendanin (a limonoid extracted from the bark ofMelia azedarach). In four of five experiments insect growth was reduced significantly (P=0.05) by the presence of toosendanin in the diet. The fifth experiment showed the same trend, but the effect was not significant. Mean larval mass of both control and treated insects also varied greatly among experiments. The considerable variability observed in this population highlights the importance of replicating experiments in time, and not just space, to confirm reproducibility of treatment effects. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Jan. 23, 2007.