Parasitoid community of the loreyi leaf wormMythimna (Acantholeucania) loreyi: Novel host-parasitoid associations and their efficiency in the eastern mediterranean region of Turkey

The loreyi leaf worm,Mythimna (Acantholeucania) loreyi Duponchel (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), is a pest of gramineous crops and causes significant economic damage to maize. In field surveys on maize to determine the parasitoid community and its impact on the pest in the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey, nine parasitoid species were found associated with immature stages ofM. loreyi: The hymenopteran (Braconidae and Ichneumonidae) parasitoidsCotesia (=Apanteles) ruficrus (Haliday),Chelonus oculator Panzer,Meteorus ictericus Nees,Hyposoter didymator (Thunberg),Sinophorus sp.; and the dipteran (Tachinidae) parasitoidsPseudogonia rufifrons Wiedeman,Exorista rossica Mesnil,Gonia picea (Robineau-Desvoidy) andLinnaemya vulpina (Fallen) — the last three recorded for the first time as parasitoids ofM. loreyi in Turkey.C. ruficrus was the dominant parasitoid species, being recovered from 38.5% of the larvae collected and was also the most prevalent species, existing in 91.0% of the fields in whichM. loreyi was found. Total parasitism levels achieved by braconid species was 41.4%, by ichneumonid parasitoids 4.8%, and by tachinid parasitoids 1.9%. In a separate field experiment, seasonal population fluctuations and natural efficiency ofC. ruficrus onM. loreyi were found to be 35.1% and 42.4%, respectively. Population levels ofC. ruficrus were closely related to fluctuations in the population ofM. loreyi, with parasitism ranging between 0 and 77.3% during the study. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting Aug. 28, 2005.     

Comparison of pregnancy per AI of heifers inseminated with sex-sorted or conventional semen after oestrus detection or timed artificial insemination

The objective of the study was to compare the fertility after using sex-sorted or conventional semen either with oestrus detection (EST) or timed artificial insemination (TAI) in Holstein heifers. Holstein heifers were randomly assigned to one of the following treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Heifers in the EST group were inseminated with sex-sorted (n = 114) or conventional semen (n = 100) after spontaneous or induced oestrus. Heifers in the TAI, subjected to the 5-day Cosynch+Progesterone protocol (GnRH+P4 insertion-5d-PGF_2α+P4 removal-1d-PGF_2α-2d-GnRH+TAI), were inseminated with sex-sorted (n = 113) or conventional semen (n = 88). Statistical analyses were performed using PROC GLIMMIX procedure of SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Overall P/AI was 60.7% for EST and 54.2% for TAI regardless of types of semen and 68.1% for conventional and 48.9% for sex-sorted semen regardless of insemination strategies. Fertility of heifers inseminated with either sex-sorted (53.5%; 44.2%) or conventional (69.0%; 67.0%) semen did not differ between EST and TAI respectively. Besides, the interaction between the semen type and the insemination strategy was not significant for P/AI. The embryonic loss was significantly greater with sex-sorted semen (17.1%) compared to conventional semen (1.6%). There was no sire effect with sex-sorted semen on P/AI (52.6% vs. 46.2%) and embryonic loss (16.4% vs. 18.0%). As expected, sex-sorted semen resulted in more female calves (89.8% vs. 51.6%) than conventional semen. Thus, sex-sorted semen can be used with 5-day Cosynch+Progesterone protocol to eliminate the inadequate oestrus detection and to increase female calves born in dairy heifers.     

CASE REPORT: Corneal papilloma associated with papillomavirus in a one‐humped camel (Camelus dromedarius)

A 15‐year‐old male dromedary camel with a history of chronic severe keratoconjunctivitis and corneal mass in the left eye of 6 months’ duration was referred to the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at Adnan Menderes University. A superficial keratectomy was performed and biopsy material submitted for histopathology. The diagnosis was corneal papilloma. There has been no recurrence of the neoplasm to date (6 months, 1 year). Corneal papilloma has not been reported previously in camels and seems to be associated with papillomavirus.     

The pyrethrins and related compounds. Part XXXIV. Optimisation of insecticidal activity in non-esters

Optimisation of activity within the structural constraints defined by the preceding work, by varying the substituents on phenyl in the acid fragment (10 variations), the nature of the group fulfilling the dimethyl function (three variations), the central linking group (four variations) and the presence or absence of a 4-fluoro substituent in the alcohol fragment, has led to achiral compounds as active as bioresmethrin against houseflies and mustard beetles. Statistical analysis of the effects has shown that particular combinations, for instance the cyclopropyl form of dimethyl with a central E-alkene group (but not a central ether group), lead to higher activity than expected. 4-Fluoro substitution enhances activity more strongly against mustard beetles. Difluorocyclopropyl compounds are on average slightly more active than cyclopropyl analogues.     

Chemical composition and antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil and methanol extract of Hippomarathrum microcarpum (Bieb.) from Turkey

Hippomarathrum microcarpum grows wild in eastern Anatolia, Turkey, and is a plant utilized as food by people. In this study, the in vitro antimicrobial and antioxidant activities of the essential oil and methanol extract from H. microcarpum and its essential oil composition were investigated. The essential oil, which has bornyl acetate, caryophyllene oxide, and beta-caryophyllene as its main components, exhibited activity against eight bacteria, nine fungi, and a yeast, Candida albicans, with minimum inhibitory concentration values ranging from 62.50 to 125 muL/mL; the methanol extract showed weak activity. The antioxidant activity of these extracts was assessed by the beta-carotene bleaching test and the 1,1'-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging test. The inhibition of linoleic acid oxidation was very weak for both extracts tested. The inhibition percentages were found to be 22.9 and 33.5% for methanol and essential oil, respectively, at the concentration of 2 g/L. The oil scavenged DPPH at higher concentrations (IC50 = 10.69 +/- 0.05 mg/mL), but the methanol extract exhibited no activity. The total phenolic content of the methanol extract was found to be 4.7 +/- 0.1%.     

Soil determinants for distribution of Halocnemum strobilaceum Bieb. (Chenopodiaceae) around Lake Tuz, Turkey

In this study we aimed to reveal the ranges and effectiveness of soil parameters on the distribution of H. strobilaceum. Halocnemum strobilaceum Bieb. is a widespread species in saline habitats and the distribution pattern of this halophytic species around Lake Tuz in Central Anatolia was examined according to the soil characteristics. pH, electrical conductivity, soil humidity, salt percentage, soluble Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, CO3(2-), HCO3(-), Cl(-) and SO4(2-) values, total cations, cation exchange capacity, sodium adsorption ratio, exchangeable Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+ values were the examined soil properties. The most effective soil parameters for flowering period were found as Na, SO4, total cations, SAR and EC and for seed bearing period as EC, Mg, total cations, Cl, Na, SO4 and salt (%) content of the soil.     

New records of endoparasitoidBassus fabricius, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Agathidinae) species from Turkey

SixBassus species were recorded for the first time in Turkey:B. calculator (Fabricius, 1798),B. cingulipes (Nees, 1814),B. conspicuus (Wesmael, 1837),B. graecus Achterberg, 1992,B. rugulosus (Needs, 1834) andB. zaykovi (Nixon, 1986). By adding these new records, the number ofBassus species in Turkey has been raısed from seven to 13. Distribution and known hosts are given.     

Removal of Phosphate from Waste Waters by Adsorption

In this study, the adsorption of phosphate on gas concrete from aqueous solutions has been studied as functions of temperature, mixing rates and suspension pH. Over 99% of phosphate removal was found. The chemical composition of the gas concrete has been defined by X-ray analysis. Experimental data was fitted to the Langmuir equation in order to Langmuir coefficients. After calculating Langmuir coefficients, adsorption free energy (Δ G ⁰ _ads.) has been determined. In order to gather information about adsorption mechanism, electrophoretic mobilites of particles were measured at various pHs by using Zeta meter 3.0+. It has been found that the adsorption is driven by the interactions between the ionizations of CaO and Al₂O₃ and the formation of AlPO₄. According to the BET (N₂) measurements, the specific surface area of gas concrete was found as 22 m²g^-1. The surface area after adsorption has been found as 17 m²g^-1. The surface area covered by adsorbate has been found as 5.23 m²g^-1 by usinga_s = n^s _m. a_m. N_A. These two areas determined by BET and Langmuir model were close to each other (BET: 22 m²g^-1–17 m²g^-1).     

Mathematical modeling and an application of the filled function method in entomology

Macrosiphum rosae (L.) is one of the most destructive pests for Rosa damascena (Miller) when it is found in high numbers. In order to understand the population dynamics of this pest, our priority should be the determination of what extent environmental factors affect the pest population. In this study, we apply fuzzy logic modeling to visualize the population variations, which depends on the environmental factors (temperature and humidity), by using the data obtained from the field studies. After that, we determine the values of temperature and humidity that makes the number of M. rosae maximum by using the filled function method as a global optimization technique.