Insect Pests in Forage Crops and Integrated Plant Protection

Ultraviolet-Blocking Materials as a Physical Barrier to Control Insect Pests and Plant Pathogens in Protected Crops

New types of ultraviolet (UV)-blocking materials, such as polyethylene films and nets, have been developed in recent years as a very promising tool to control insect vectors of plant disease threatening greenhouse crops. UV-blocking materials have properties to filter the UV radiation (280-400 nm) interfering with the vision of insects and in consequence, their behaviour related with movement, ...

Assessment of insecticide resistance in five insect pests attacking field and vegetable crops in Nicaragua.

Field populations of Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), Plutella xylostella (L.), Spodoptera exigua (Hübner), Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) and Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) were tested for resistance to several insecticides commonly used in Nicariagua. Assays were conducted to estimate the LD50s or LC50s and the corresponding resistance ratios. A diagnostic concentration was used to discriminate between s...

Influence of cover crops on insect pests and predators in conservation tillage cotton.

In fall 2000, an on-farm sustainable agricultural research project was established for cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., in Tift County, Georgia. The objective of our 2-yr research project was to determine the impact of several cover crops on pest and predator insects in cotton. The five cover crop treatments included 1) cereal rye, Secale cereale L., a standard grass cover crop; 2) crimson clover...

Transgenic Vegetable Crops for Managing Insect Pests and Fungal and Viral Diseases

Plant fitness assessment for wild relatives of insect resistant crops.

Risk assessments of new insect-resistant crops will need to estimate the potential for increased weediness of wild crop relatives as a consequence of gene flow. When field experiments are precluded by containment concerns, simulation experiments can identify hazards or measure expected differences between GMOs and parental plants. To measure plant fitness consequences of wild plant protection f...