Use of biotherapic in the control of the natural infestation by Boophilus microplus: pilot study

In the control of tick-borne disease (TBD), resistance to chemical products has been reported and a concern with the preservation of the environment requires alternative procedures to control infestation by Boophilus microplus worldwide. The use of biotherapic preparations is one of such alternatives. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a biotherapic mixture including B. microplus in naturally infested cattle. 27 animals were divided in 3 groups (n=9): I – control, received no treatment; II- treated with amitraz dip; III- treated with a standard commercial mixture of biotherapic 12cH, p.o. Group III presented a statistically significant decrease of ticks when compared to the control group (p < 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between groups II (amitraz) and III (biotherapic) (p < 0.05). These results suggest that biotherapic preparations might be effective in the control of B. microplus in cattle. Keywords: Biotherapic; Tick; Alternative control; Cattle.  Uso do bioterapico no controle da infestação natural por Boophilus microplus: estudo piloto Resumo No controle de enfermidades transmitidas por carrapatos tem sido notada a resisténcia a produtos químicos. A preocupação com a conservação do meio ambiente tem exigido procedimentos alternativos para controlar a infestação por Boophilus microplus, em todo o mundo. O uso de bioterápicos representa uma dessas alternativas. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito de uma mistura de bioterápicos incluindo B. microplus, em gado bovino infestado naturalmente. 27 animais foram divididos em 3 grupos (n=9): I) controle sem tratamento; II) tratado com banho de amitraz; III) tratado com mistura comercial de bioterápicos 12 cH, via oral. O grupo III apresentou uma diminuição estatísticamente significativa de carrapatos, em comparação com grupo controle (p < 0,05). Não houve diferença significativa entre os grupo II e III (p < 0,05). Estes resultados sugerem que os preparados de bioterápicos podem ser eficazes para o controle de B. microplus em bovinos. Palavras-chave: Bioterapicos; Carrapato; Controles alternativos; Bovinos.  Uso de bioterápico en el control de la infestación natural por Boophilus microplus: estudio piloto Resumen En el control de enfermedades trasmitidas por garrapatas, ha sido notada resistencia los productos químicos; la preocupación con la conservación del ambiente exige procedimientos alternativos para controlar la infestación por Boophilus microplus mundialmente. El uso de preparados bioterápicos representa una de esas alternativas. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar el efecto de una mezcla bioterápica incluyendo B. microplus en ganado infestado naturalmente. 27 animales fueron divididos en 3 grupos (n=9): I) control, sin tratamiento; II) tratado con banho de amitraz; III) tratado con mezcla comercial de bioterápicos 12cH, vía oral. El grupo III presentó una disminución estadísticamente significativa de garrapatas en comparación al grupo control (p < 0,05). No hubo diferencia significativa entre los grupos II y III (p < 0,05). Estos resultados sugieren que los preparados de bioterápicos pueden ser eficaces para controlar B. microplus en ganado. Palabras-clave: Bioterapicos; Garrapatas; control alternativo; Ganado.  Correspondence author: Alessandro P. Minho. [email protected]; http://www.iapar.br; Instituto Agronômico do Paraná (IAPAR)-PR, Brazil. How to cite this article: Silva NL, Moletta JL, Minho AP, Filippsen LF. Use of biotherapic in the control of natural infestation by Boophilus microplus: pilot study. Int J High Dilution Res [online]. 2008 [cited DD Mmm YYYY]; 7 (22): 36-38. Available from http://journal.giri-society.org/index.php/ijhdr/article/view/251/337. ÂÂÂ

Exploring Natural Alternatives for Annual Bluegrass Control

A field experiment was conducted to identify and examine the effectiveness of potential non-traditional chemical products and alternatives for controlling annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.), a plant with increasing herbicide resistant problems. In managed turf systems annual bluegrass can be a difficult winter annual weed to control having negative impacts on turfgrass quality. This study included 12 different treatments [untreated check, baking soda, white vinegar + lemon juice, Suppress herbicide, superphosphate (0-20-0), clove oil, Weed Zap, Avenger Weed Killer, Fiesta Turf Weed Killer, Ecologic Weed & Grass Killer, Alcohol (43% ethanol), and Pool Time Algicide] applied to a TifEagle bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon × C. traansvalensis) putting green where a natural infestation of annual bluegrass was present. Treatments were assessed visually for annual bluegrass control and turf phytotoxicity 1, 2, and 4 weeks after application. Overall, no treatment provided long-term control which was non-selective. Control was short-lived with annual bluegrass recovery beginning approximately two weeks after applying treatments. Greatest Poa burndown (~85%) was temporarily (1 to 2 weeks after application) with a combination of caprylic and capric acids (Suppress Herbicide) and a combination of clove oil and dishwashing detergent but plants fully recovered by three weeks after application. These products also produced similar temporary turf phytotoxicity. Bermudagrass turf phytotoxicity from selective treatments was most evident one week after applying treatments and turf had mostly fully recovered by four weeks after treatment. Suitable alternatives were not identified from products tested.

Unraveling the genetic variability of host resilience to endo and ectoparasites under natural infestation, in Nellore cattle

Background: Host resilience (HR) to parasites can affect growth in pastured raised cattle. This study is a detailed investigation of the genetic mechanisms of HR to ticks (TICK), gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN), and Eimeria spp. (EIM) under natural infestation. HR was defined as the slope coefficient of random regression models of body weight (BW) when TICK, GIN, and EIM burdens were used as environmental gradients. The BW was evaluated in five measurement events (ME): when animals were 331, 385, 443, 498, and 555 days old on average. 7307 BW records were available from 1712 animals weighted at least in one ME. Out of those, 1075 animals had valid genotypic information after quality control analysis that were used in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and GWAS meta-analyses to identify genomic regions associated with HR. Results: Both the genetic correlations between intercept and HR to each parasite, and the genetic correlations between BW measured in animals submitted to different parasite burden indicated that there was genotype x parasite burden interaction for BW, and selection for BW under environment with controlled parasite burden might be an efficient strategy to improve both, BW and HR. Furthermore, there was no impact of age of measurement on genetic variance estimates for HR to different parasites. However, genetic correlation between HR to the same parasite measured in different ages ranged from low to moderate in magnitude, with a posteriori means (high posterior density interval with 90% of samples) varying from 0.13 (-0.05; 0.35) to 0.40 (0.15; 0.63) for TICK, from 0.11 (-0.06; 0.29) to 0.52 (0.37; 0.67) for GIN and from 0.25 (0.07; 0.43) to 0.56 (0.34; 0.77) for EIM. Conclusions: These results indicate the importance of age of measurement in studies on HR. HR to GIN and EIM can be used as a complementary tool to parasitic control management, and a multiple trait selection method that combine BW and HR to parasites should be used in parasitic endemic areas to avoid economic losses due parasitic diseases.

Grape Phylloxera Genetic Structure Reveals Root–Leaf Migration within Commercial Vineyards

Depending on their life cycle, grape phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae Fitch) leaf-feeding populations are initiated through asexually produced offspring or sexual recombination. The vine’s initial foliar larvae may originate from root-feeding phylloxera or wind-drifted foliar larvae from other habitats. Though some studies have reported phylloxera leaf-feeding in commercial vineyards, it is still unclear if they are genetically distinct from the population structure of these two sources. Using seven SSR-markers, this study analyzed the genetic structure of phylloxera populations in commercial vineyards with different natural infestation scenarios and that of single-plant insect systems that exclude infestation by wind-drifted larvae. We saw that during the vegetation period, phylloxera populations predominately go through their asexual life cycle to migrate from roots to leaves. We provided evidence that such migrations do not exclusively occur through wind-drifted foliar populations from rootstock vines in abandoned thickets, but that root populations within commercial vineyards also migrate to establish V. vinifera leaf populations. Whereas the former scenario generates foliar populations with high genotypic diversity, the latter produces population bottlenecks through founder effects or phylloxera biotype selection pressure. We finally compared these population structures with those of populations in their native habitat in North America, using four microsatellite markers.

Early detection of sources of resistance to the fall armyworm in some tropically-adapted maize varieties in Southern Nigeria

<p>he outbreak of fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, in Nigeria since 2016 had caused serious socio-economic problem to farmers. Twenty maize varieties adapted to the agro-ecologies of Nigeria were evaluated in five environments to identify varieties with resistance to the FAW for possible improvement and deployment. The evaluations were under artificial and natural infestation between 2017 and 2018. Data were collected weekly after infestation on severity and incidence of FAW and plant height. All trials were terminated at six weeks after sowing. Varieties SUWAN 1 SR, BR LNTP-Y C6, AMA TZBR-W C4 and TZBR ELD 4 C2 are good sources of resistance to FAW which could be used in improvement program</p>

Evaluación de la eficacia de productos mosquicidas para el control de la mosca del cuerno (Haematobia irritans) en condiciones de infestación natural en dos regiones de México / Evaluation of fly control efficacy of new drug prototypes for the control of horn- fly (Haematobia irritans) under natural infestation conditions in two regions of Mexico

Las parasitosis por la moscas de los cuernos (Haematobia irritans) en el trópico de México generan importantes pérdidas económicas. El objetivo de esta investigación fue evaluar bajo condiciones de infestación natural, la eficacia de tres prototipos farmacéuticos indicados para el control de la mosca de los cuernos. Se utilizaron 80 vacas asignadas aleatoriamente a cuatro grupos de 20 animales en dos regiones México. Grupo 1: 593.10, Grupo 2: 593.11, Grupo 3: 593.12 y Grupo 4: control-sin tratamiento. El tratamiento fue por derrame dorsal a una dosis de 1 mL/10 kg de peso vivo. Se determinó la eficacia contando el número moscas en los días 1, 3, 7, 14, 21 y 28 post-tratamiento, las moscas fueron contadas in situ y comparado mediante fotografías de alta resolución que fueron tomadas sobre condiciones normales de pastoreo. El porcentaje de eficacia de los prototipos de prueba fue de aproximadamente 70-80 % al día 21 y ≥ 50 % entre los días 25 y 28 post-tratamiento. Los prototipos de prueba (mezcla de activos) resultaron altamente eficaces contra la mosca de los cuernos y podrían ser una alternativa para el control del parasito, contemplando las condiciones ambientales de las diferentes zonas geográficas donde son evaluados, la época de mayor incidencia de la mosca y estableciendo el umbral de carga parasitaria que provoca estrés en los bovinos. No se registró diferencia estadística significativa en eficacia entre los tres ectoparasiticidas, el uso de fármacos alternativos podrían ser una estrategia en la rotación de productos que disminuya la resistencia a las diferentes moléculas que contienen los productos comerciales.

First report of natural infestation of Ovomermis sinensis (Nematoda: Mermithidae) parasitizing fall armyworm Spodoptera sp. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Himachal Pradesh, India

Spodoptera frugiperda invaded in India at the end of 2018 and has caused severe damage to maize including other crops. Several S. frugiperda naturally parasitized by nematodes were observed in Nauni, Himachal Pradesh, India. The morphological features based on the results of scanning electron microscopy indicated that the nematode belongs to the family Mermithidae. Furthermore, characters discovered that the nematode belongs to Ovomermis sinensis, a known entomoparasitic nematode. Our finding was the first record that S. frugiperda, was naturally parasitized by O. sinensis. The results of this study are of great importance for potential biological control of S. frugiperda by indigenous natural beneficial organisms, i.e., O. sinensis within an integrated pest management system.