the chitinase producing ability of pseudomonas fluorescens strains viz., pf1, pb2 and fp7 was evaluated in a culture medium with and without a chitin source. the addition of 1% (v/v) chitin in culture medium significantly increased the bacterial population and chitinase activity. among three strains tested, fp7 responded well to the addition of chitin by producing 31.2% increased chitinase in c...

purpose: this investigation was undertaken to evaluate the potency of metarhizium anisoplea as a biological alternative to the biological control of german cockroaches. materials & methods: the fungal spores were applied against the male and female german cockroach, using two bioassay methods, viz the submerge application and the injection. the data was analysed and the mean mortality was ...

root-lesion disease, which is caused by pratylenchus loosi , is one of the most important diseases currently impacting iran tea plantations. this disease causes great economic crop impacts. northern provinces, which supply much of iran’s tea production, have been especially hard impact by root-lesion disease.the purpose of this study was to biological control the nematodes as one of the main se...

the present paper provides the updated checklist of the genera and species in the subfamily alysiinae (hymenoptera: braconidae) from iran. a total of 55 species belonging to 13 genera have been listed, that had been recorded from 15 provinces. the recorded species belong to the genera alloea haliday, 1833 (one species), aphaereta foerster, 1862 (two species), aspilota foerster, 1862 (two specie...

spotted amber ladybird, hippodamia variegata (goeze, 1777) (coleoptera: coccinellidae) is an important predator of aphids and some other insect pests. since shape and size variation may affect biological characteristics of an insect, multivariate analysis of shape variations in four geographically isolated populations of h. variegata (isfahan, shahrekord, shiraz, yasuj) was performed based on e...

trichoderma is a genus of asexually reproducing fungi that is present in all types of soils. trichoderma species have been recognized as antagonists of soil-borne and foliage pathogens and as efficient decomposers of cellulosic waste materials. moreover, they have the ability to increase plant growth and induce plant resistance. along with mycoparasitism, antibiotics and competition, induced re...

the aphidiine parasitoids (hym., braconidae) attacking the pest aphids on various pome and stone fruit trees in different parts of iranwere studied. a total of 13 species belonging to seven genera of aphid parasitoids were identified in association with 17 aphid species on 10 different species of fruit trees. sixty nine tritrophic associations were detected from the studied area of which 25 ass...

Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are obligate parasites of insects. EPNs generally have a broad host range, easily mass reared, and can kill some insects within 48 h. safe for vertebrates, plants, other non-target organisms. However, disadvantages that make them less effective against foliar insect pests such as sensitivity to desiccation, ultraviolet (UV) radiation, high temperatures. The goa...