Suitability of Wild Host Plants and Firewood as Hosts of Prostephanus truncatus (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) in Mozambique

Abstract Prostephanus truncatus (Horn) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) populations are maintained in wild host plants such as trees that act as pest reservoirs from where beetle infestation of maize granaries take place. In this study, we assessed the suitability of plant species sold and transported as firewood as well as other plant species in Mozambique as hosts for P. truncatus. Prostephanus truncatus was only recorded from three tree species, which are sold as firewood, i.e., Brachystegia spiciformis, Strychnos spinosa, and Colophospermum mopane. The pest survived and bred in 13 tree and 7 grass species. Dry wood of several tree species and the grasses Acroceras macrum and Hyparrhenia hirta were suitable hosts for pest development. Sale and transport of certain firewood species may be an important driver of the spread of this pest. The importance of dry maize stalks and several grass species in sustaining pest populations is described for the first time. Several grass species are used as thatch or fencing material and, together with maize crop residues close to small-scale granaries, may provide significant sources of beetle infestation.

Download Full-text

Species composition and host range of fruit-infesting flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in northern Ghana

International Journal of Tropical Insect Science ◽

10.1017/s1742758415000090 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 35 (03) ◽

pp. 137-151 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

K.B. Badii ◽

M.K. Billah ◽

K. Afreh-Nuamah ◽

D. Obeng-Ofori

Keyword(s):

Host Range ◽

Plant Species ◽

Host Plants ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Fruit Fly ◽

Fruit Flies ◽

Northern Ghana ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Wild Host ◽

Fruit Samples

An important aspect of fruit fly management is accurate information on the species and their host spectrum. Studies were conducted between October 2011 and September 2013 to determine the host range and species diversity of pest fruit flies in the northern savannah ecology of Ghana. Fruit samples from 80 potential host plants (wild and cultivated) were collected and incubated for fly emergence; 65 (81.5%) of the plant species were positive to fruit flies. From records in Africa, 11 plant species were reported to be new hosts to the African invader fly,Bactrocera invadens(Drew, Tsuruta and White, 2005). This study documented the first records ofDacus ciliatus(Loew) andTrirhithrum nigerrimum(Bezzi) in northern Ghana although both species have been previously reported in other parts of the country. Infestation byB. invadenswas higher in the cultivated fruits;Ceratitis cosyradominated in most wild fruits. Cucurbitaceae were mainly infested by three species ofDacusandBactroceracucurbitae, a specialized cucurbit feeder. Among the commercial fruit species, the highest infestations were observed in mango, tomato, sweet pepper and watermelon, whereas marula plum, soursop, tropical almond, sycamore fig, African peach, shea nut, persimmon, icacina and albarillo dominated the wild host flora. The widespread availability of host plants and the incidence of diverse fly species in the ecology call for particular attention to their impact on commercial fruits and the development of sustainable management strategies against these economically important pests in Ghana.

Download Full-text

New records of host plants used by a weaver ants Camponotus textor Forel, 1899 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Journal of Environmental Analysis and Progress ◽

10.24221/jeap.1.1.2016.966.111-116 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 111-116

Author(s):

Jean Carlos Santos ◽

Jonas José Mendes Aguiar ◽

Tatiana Rosa Alves ◽

Wanessa Rejane Almeida ◽

Kleber Del-Claro

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Tree Species ◽

Host Plants ◽

Field Survey ◽

New Records ◽

Insect Pests ◽

Phytophagous Insect ◽

Brazilian Cerrado ◽

Weaver Ants ◽

Weaver Ant

Weaver ants nest on plants but the extent of such associations is unknown for many species. Literature records of weaver ant host plants from 1945 to 2016 showed that Camponotus textor Forel, 1899 (= Camponotus senex), the Brazilian savanna weaver ant, was recorded on 17 plant species belonging to 11 families. Our field survey recorded nine plant species in eight families at Brazilian Cerrado. Overall, we expanded the list to a total of 24 host plant species and 14 families, including economically important tree species as mango, citrus, and jambo trees. Such host plants could be used to augment the establishment of weaver ants, facilitating their role in biocontrol as deterrents of phytophagous insect pests of economically important plants.

Download Full-text

Adoption and Commercialization of Green Corn, Green Corn –Based Silage, Haylage and Ummb Production for Dairy Cattle in Cagayan Valley, Philippines

Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Review Vol.4 (4) October-December. 2019 - Global Journal of Engineering and Technology Review ◽

10.35609/gjetr.2019.4.4(2) ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 82-92

Author(s):

Eva U. Cammayo ◽

Nilo E. Padilla

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cattle ◽

Nutritive Value ◽

Crop Residues ◽

Smallholder Farmers ◽

Corn Silage ◽

Small Scale ◽

Dairy Farmers ◽

Feed Resources ◽

Dry Spell ◽

Dairy Animals

This research aimed to improve dairy production and increase the income of dairy farmers using locally available feed resources. Small-scale milk producers rely heavily on available feed resources in the locality which are either indigenous in the area or introduced species for feed and nutrition of their dairy cattle and buffalos. Their milk output depends mainly on seasonal fluctuations in the quality and quantity of natural forage. Crop residues such as corn stover and rice straw which are high in fiber but low in nutrients serve as a feed supplement and filler to the daily diets of dairy cattle and buffalos. Cagayan Valley is an ear of top corn and rice-producing region. The potential of crop residues as feed supplements or raw materials of dairy cattle/buffalo feed mix is great. But dairy farmers still face the scarcity problem of quality feed resources for dairy animals especially during the dry season. The supply of forage is very low during the dry spell. Inadequate feed mix and low nutritive value of feed mix result in low or no milk production. Producing green corn and ensiling it to produce green corn silage preserves and prolong the storage life of forages. In this way, a stable supply of feed mix for dairy animals is assured year-round. Type of Paper: Empirical. Keywords: adoption and commercialization, dairy industry, financial viability, green-corn silage production, indigenous grasses, smallholder farmers.

Download Full-text

Deciphering Substrate-Specific Methane Yields of Perennial Herbaceous Wild Plant Species

Agronomy ◽

10.3390/agronomy11030451 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 451

Author(s):

Moritz von Cossel ◽

Lorena Agra Pereira ◽

Iris Lewandowski

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Dry Matter ◽

Plant Biomass ◽

Cropping Systems ◽

Wild Plant ◽

Small Scale ◽

Social Ecological ◽

Wild Plant Species ◽

Global Demand ◽

Bioenergy Cropping Systems

The global demand for plant biomass to provide bioenergy and heat is continuously increasing because of a growing interest among many industrialized and developing countries towards climate sound and renewable energy supply. The exacerbation of land-use conflicts proliferates social-ecological demands on future bioenergy cropping systems. Perennial herbaceous wild plant mixtures (WPMs) represent an approach to providing social-ecologically more sustainably produced biogas substrate that has gained increasing public and political interest only in recent years. The focus of this study lies on three perennial wild plant species (WPS) that usually dominate the biomass yield performance of WPM cultivation. These WPS were compared with established biogas crops in terms of their substrate-specific methane yield (SMY) and lignocellulosic composition. The plant samples were investigated in a small-scale mesophilic discontinuous biogas batch test for determining the SMY. All WPS were found to have significantly lower SMY (241.5–248.5 lN kgVS−1) than maize (337.5 lN kgVS−1). This was attributed to higher contents of lignin (9.7–12.8% of dry matter) as well as lower contents of hemicellulose (9.9–11.5% of dry matter) in the WPS. Only minor, non-significant differences to cup plant and Virginia mallow were observed. Thus, when planning WPS as a diversification measure in biogas cropping systems, their lower SMY should be considered.

Download Full-text

Effect of host plant on the life history of the carnation tortrix moth Cacoecimorpha pronubana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1017/s0007485321000493 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Marcin W. Zielonka ◽

Tom W. Pope ◽

Simon R. Leather

Keyword(s):

Life History ◽

Host Plant ◽

Plant Species ◽

Host Plants ◽

Crop Protection ◽

Plant Production ◽

Pupal Weight ◽

Production Environment ◽

Host Plant Species ◽

The Uk

Abstract The carnation tortrix moth, Cacoecimorpha pronubana (Hübner, [1799]) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), is one of the most economically important insect species affecting the horticultural industry in the UK. The larvae consume foliage, flowers or fruits, and/or rolls leaves together with silken threads, negatively affecting the growth and/or aesthetics of the crop. In order to understand the polyphagous behaviour of this species within an ornamental crop habitat, we hypothesized that different host plant species affect its life history traits differently. This study investigated the effects of the host plant species on larval and pupal durations and sizes, and fecundity (the number of eggs and the number and size of egg clutches). At 20°C, 60% RH and a 16L:8D photoperiod larvae developed 10, 14, 20 and 36 days faster when reared on Christmas berry, Photinia (Rosaceae), than on cherry laurel, Prunus laurocerasus (Rosaceae), New Zealand broadleaf, Griselinia littoralis (Griseliniaceae), Mexican orange, Choisya ternata (Rutaceae), and firethorn, Pyracantha angustifolia (Rosaceae), respectively. Female pupae were 23.8 mg heavier than male pupae, and pupal weight was significantly correlated with the duration of larval development. The lowest and the highest mean numbers of eggs were produced by females reared on Pyracantha (41) and Photinia (202), respectively. Clutch size differed significantly among moths reared on different host plants, although the total number of eggs did not differ. This study showed that different ornamental host plants affect the development of C. pronubana differently. Improved understanding of the influence of host plant on the moth's life history parameters measured here will help in determining the economic impact that this species may have within the ornamental plant production environment, and may be used in developing more accurate crop protection methodologies within integrated pest management of this insect.

Download Full-text

Assortments of Digestive Enzymes Induced in First Instar Larvae of Busseola fusca Feeding on Different Plants

International Journal of Insect Science ◽

10.1177/1179543319843521 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

pp. 117954331984352 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Gérald Juma ◽

Bruno Le Ru ◽

Paul-André Calatayud

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Digestive Enzymes ◽

Host Plants ◽

Feeding Habits ◽

Busseola Fusca ◽

Stem Borer ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Host Acceptance ◽

First Instar ◽

Sub Saharan

The stem borer Busseola fusca (Fuller) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest of maize and sorghum in sub-Saharan Africa. This insect has oligophagous feeding habits, feeding mostly on maize and sorghum with a narrow range of wild Poaceous plant species. We hypothesised that first instar B. fusca larvae, the critical stage for successful establishment on a host plant, can establish and then grow on a particular plant as a result of induction of a complement of digestive enzymes that mediates host acceptance at first instars. A fast semi-quantitative analysis of potentially digestive enzymatic activities present in the first larvae previously fed for 4 days on leaves of host and non-host plants was performed using the API-ZYM kit system able to detect a multiplex of enzyme activities. Regardless of the plant species, the larvae exhibited higher activities of the carbohydrate metabolising enzymes than of aminopeptidases and proteases. In addition, highest activities of carbohydrates degrading enzymes were exhibited by larvae that consumed leaves of the most preferred plant species of B. fusca. Conversely, esterases were only detected in neonate larvae that consumed leaves of the less preferred and non-host plants. No alkaline phosphatase and lipase activities were detected. The significance of these results was discussed in terms of food requirements of first instar larvae when settling on a plant.

Download Full-text

Genetic Differentiation among Maruca vitrata F. (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Populations on Cultivated Cowpea and Wild Host Plants: Implications for Insect Resistance Management and Biological Control Strategies

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0092072 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. e92072 ◽

Cited By ~ 14

Author(s):

Tolulope A. Agunbiade ◽

Brad S. Coates ◽

Benjamin Datinon ◽

Rousseau Djouaka ◽

Weilin Sun ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Genetic Differentiation ◽

Insect Resistance ◽

Host Plants ◽

Control Strategies ◽

Resistance Management ◽

Maruca Vitrata ◽

Insect Resistance Management ◽

Wild Host

Download Full-text

Cloning and Mapping of a Putative Barley NADPH-Dependent HC-Toxin Reductase

Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions ◽

10.1094/mpmi.1997.10.2.234 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 234-239 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

F. Han ◽

A. Kleinhofs ◽

A. Kilian ◽

S. E. Ullrich

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Chromosome 9 ◽

Immature Embryos ◽

Chromosome 1 ◽

Grass Species ◽

Cochliobolus Carbonum ◽

Wide Range ◽

Young Leaves ◽

High Conservation ◽

Hc Toxin

The NADPH-dependent HC-toxin reductase (HCTR), encoded by Hm1 in maize, inactivates HC-toxin produced by the fungus Cochliobolus carbonum, and thus confers resistance to the pathogen. The fact that C. carbonum only infects maize (Zea mays) and is the only species known to produce HC-toxin raises the question: What are the biological functions of HCTR in other plant species? An HCTR-like enzyme may function to detoxify toxins produced by pathogens which infect other plant species (R. B. Meeley, G. S. Johal, S. E. Briggs, and J. D. Walton, Plant Cell, 4:71–77, 1992). Hm1 homolog in rice (Y. Hihara, M. Umeda, C. Hara, Q. Liu, S. Aotsuka, K. Toriyama, and H. Uchimiya, unpublished) and HCTR activity in barley, wheat, oats and sorghum have been reported (R. B. Meeley and J. D. Walton, Plant Physiol. 97:1080–1086, 1993). To investigate the sequence conservation of Hm1 and HCTR in barley and the possible relationship of barley Hm1 homolog to the known disease resistance genes, we cloned and mapped a barley (Hordeum vulgare) Hm1-like gene. A putative full-length cDNA clone, Bhm1-18, was isolated from a cDNA library consisting of mRNA from young leaves, inflorescences, and immature embryos. This 1,297-bp clone encodes 363 amino acids which show great similarity (81.6%) with the amino acid sequence of HM1 in maize. Two loci were mapped to barley molecular marker linkage maps with Bhm1-18 as the probe; locus A (Bhm1A) on the long arm of chromosome 1, and locus B (Bhm1B) on the short arm of chromosome 1 which is syntenic to maize chromosome 9 containing the Hm2 locus. The Bhm1-18 probe hybridized strongly to a Southern blot of a wide range of grass species, indicating high conservation of HCTR at the DNA sequence level among grasses. The HCTR mRNA was detected in barley roots, leaves, inflorescences, and immature embryos. The conservation of the HCTR sequence, together with its expression in other plant species (R. B. Meeley and J. D. Walton, Plant Physiol. 97:1080–1086, 1993), suggests HCTR plays an important functional role in other plant species.

Download Full-text

Spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) in protected natural areas of Serbia

Systematic and Applied Acarology ◽

10.11158/saa.23.10.12 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (10) ◽

pp. 2033

Author(s):

Ivana Marić ◽

Irena Međo ◽

Slobodan Jovanović ◽

Radmila Petanović ◽

Dejan Marčić

Keyword(s):

Plant Species ◽

Host Plants ◽

Spider Mite ◽

Spider Mites ◽

Mite Species ◽

Southeast Europe ◽

Natural Areas ◽

Relict Species ◽

Protected Natural Areas ◽

New Hosts

Despite economic importance of Tetranychidae, knowledge regarding diversity of spider mites in the Balkan Peninsula and Southeast Europe is incomplete, especially in protected natural areas. This study presents diversity of spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) collected over five growing seasons at 296 locations in 38 protected natural areas of Serbia. A total of 31 spider mite species were found, 10 from Bryobiinae and 21 from Tetranychinae. The species Eotetranychus fagi Zacher was recorded as new to Serbia and this record was also the first one for Southeast Europe. Spider mites were found on host plants in five basic types as well as many subtypes of terrestrial habitats, with woodland as the most dominant one. A total of 151 plant species from 44 families were recorded as hosts for spider mites including new world records: 60 new hosts for family Tetranychidae and 41 new hosts for 21 spider mite species. Host plants from Rosaceae family harbored the highest number of spider mite species (16). A considerable number of species was found on host plants from the families Betulaceae (11), Asteraceae (10) and Sapindaceae (10). Two cosmopolitan spider mites, Tetranychus urticae Koch and Tetranychus turkestani Ugarov & Nikolskii, were clearly distinguished with 67 (7 new) and 43 (13 new) recorded host species, respectively; among newly recorded hosts for Tetranychidae family, these two mite species were found on 27 and 12 hosts, respectively. After the two most common species, the most striking was the presence of Bryobia praetiosa Koch with 24 (4 new) recorded host plants, followed by Amphitetranychus viennensis (Zacher), Eotetranychus carpini (Oudemans) and Bryobia rubrioculus (Scheuten), with 21 (7 new), 20 (6 new) and 16 (2 new) hosts, respectively. The remaining tetranychids were found on 1–9 host plant species. This study provided the first insight into diversity of tetranychids in Serbian protected areas. Further research in this field should focus on mites from host plants representative of specific areas and habitats, including endangered, endemic and relict species.

Download Full-text