No Indication of High Host-Plant Specificity in Afrotropical Geometrid Moths

Specificity is one of the fundamental concepts in ecology. Host specificity of phytophagous insects has been of particular interest because of its crucial role in diversification and life-history evolution. However, the majority of tropical insects remain insufficiently explored with respect to their host-plant relations. A lack of respective data is also hindering the debate over whether higher levels of host-plant specificity prevail in tropical insects compared to temperate ones. We investigated host-plant specificity of forest geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) in equatorial Africa using host-plant acceptability trials with neonate larvae, with the addition of field observations. We compare our experimental data to the (well-known) host-specificity patterns of closely related temperate (hemiboreal) species. Similarly to the temperate region, there were broadly polyphagous tropical species in several clades of Geometridae utilizing hosts belonging to different plant families. Phylogenetic comparative analysis returned no significant differences in host specificity between the two regions. Our study contributes to the evidence that host-plant specificity of herbivores is not necessarily substantially higher in tropical than temperate regions.

Ex-vivo Anaerobic Digestion of Non-Palatable Pastoral Plant Toward Non-traditional Animal Feed

It is forecasted that by the end of 2025, 2.2 billion tons waste, including the non-palatable plants, will be generated annually. This is a foreseeable concern for the public health and the economy. Accordingly, waste management programs, including for the unused, unacceptable, or unpalatable plants, have been initiated worldwide. The aim of this study was to process an ex-vivo anaerobic digestion of the non-palatable pastoral plant to produce non-traditional animal feed. Five plants were selected for the present study, namely, Aerva javanica, Capparis cartilaginea, Ochradenus baccatus, Salvadora persica, and Senna alexandrina. These plants were collected from the endangered pasture from the Al-Baha region of the south west of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The collected plants were shredded into small pieces, and were subjected for the anaerobic digestion at 20oC, 30oC, and 40oC for 90 days. The evaluation of plant acceptability was achieved by observing the animals and the quantity of the digested plant material consumed by the animals. The results of the plant acceptability were very promising with respect to O. baccatus, S. persica and S. alexandrina. Good acceptability upto 100% was observed for the digested material of these plants at all the studied temperatures, 20oC, 30oC, and 40oC. It is concluded that similar studies should be carried out in other regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at large scale and on a large number of non palatable pastoral plants.

Physalis size reduction for potted ornamental plant use

ABSTRACT The consumer's constant search for novelties in the area of ornamental plants has inspired the use of species that are normally used for other purposes, such as fruit-bearing plants, to be introduced into floriculture. The physalis, a fruit-bearing plant, with a beautiful accrescent fruiting calyx that envelops the berry, can be used for these purposes. However, this plant can reach 70 cm high, which makes it unviable to be used as an indoor plant. The objective of this research was to decrease the size of the physalis (Physalis angulata) for ornamental use, pot it and apply the plant growth regulator Paclobutrazol (PBZ). The PBZ growth regulator was applied only once, via foliar spray at the concentrations of 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 mg a.i L- 1, as well as via irrigation in the substrate at concentrations of 0, 5, 10, 15, 30 and 60 mg a.i L- 1. Along with the quantitative variables, a plant acceptability test was carried out when it was considered ideal for commercialization. The obtained results clearly show that it is possible to reduce the size of the physalis for use as a potted plant by using PBZ with foliar applications at the concentration of 90 mg a.i L-1 or by using irrigation applications directly in the substrate at a concentration of 5 mg a.i L-1.