We report on a preliminary investigation of the use the Gram-negative bacterial cell wall constituent lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a natural chemical cue to stimulate and alter the expression of fungal secondary metabolism. Integrated high-throughput micro-cultivation and micro-analysis methods determined that 6 of 40 (15%) of fungi tested responded to an optimal exposure to LPS (0.6 ng/mL) by a...

Western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is an important pest of vegetable crops worldwide and has developed resistance to many insecticides. The predatory mites Neoseiulus (=Amblyseius) cucumeris (Oudemans), the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.), and an insecticide (imidacloprid) were tested for their efficacy to reduce WFT population density a...

The possibility of breeding phytoseiid predatory mites Neoseiulus cucumeris and Transeius montdorensis using hardwood sawdust as a substrate frozen dried fruit mite (Carpoglyphus lactis) feed was studied. number larvae produced by N. 31.5 % lower on in than the control, while T. it 47.7 %. individuals surviving to adulthood compared control 28.6 42.9 %, respectively. maximum daily growth rate p...

represents considerable thrips pressure. We present the data from yellow traps only to show that many thrips were present in the greenhouse throughout the trial. In the absence of predators, the number of thrips per plant increased consistently throughout the trial to reach 39.28 per plant in the final week (table 1). All treatments significantly reduced thrips numbers (P < 0.05) compared to th...

Insecticides are the most commonly used tactic to control western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), on greenhouse cucumber. However, WFT has developed resistance to several of the insecticides presently in use. In addition, some of these insecticides adversely affect greenhouse biological control agents used to control WFT, resulting in subseque...

Rhizoctonia sheath diseases of rice, comprising sheath blight, sheath spot and aggregate sheath spot, cause significant yield losses in many rice-growing regions of the world. The emergence of Rhizoctonia sheath diseases as economically important rice diseases is of recent date and has been attributed to the intensification of rice-cropping systems with the development of new short-stature, hig...

• Addition of two foods was better than one for Neoseiulus cucumeris establishment. plus artificial domatia promoted N. population growth. These supplementations enhanced the biological control efficiency .

Establishment and maintenance of the natural enemy are critical for successful biological control pests on plants without alternative food predators. Great efforts have been devoted to exploring suitable supplementary In this study, we evaluated feasibility using Tyrophagus curvipenis (Fain Fauvel) (Acari: Acaridae) as a source Neoseiulus cucumeris (Oudemans) Phytoseiidae) by investigating surv...