The commercial forest industry in South Africa is predominantly dependent on large tracts of exotic monoculture plantations. While this simplifies management practice, there is always the inherent danger posed by introduced pests and diseases. Classical biological control is usually the most effective control method against introduced exotic pests. Climatic factors and seasonal differences may negatively affect the ability of the natural enemies to establish successfully at the new location. Successful establishment of the natural enemies usually results in control over the pest within four years. Sirex noctilio naturally occurs in the mediterranean countries of Europe and North Africa. It is the only member of the Siricid family capable of killing living pine trees. Sirex noctilio was accidentally introduced into New Zealand from Europe during the early 1900s. It has since been found in Australia, Brazil, Argentina South Africa and Chile. Initial biological control in New Zealand and Tasmania was through the release of Siricid specific parasitoid wasps from Europe and North America. The discovery of the accidental introduction of the entomophagous nematode Beddingia siricidicola and its subsequent artificial culturing for release provided the platform for the biological control methodology, which brought the Sirex woodwasp under control. The methods and natural enemies used in New Zealand and Australia were introduced by the South American countries and in the Western Cape of South Africa. Successful biological control was achieved in the Western Cape within two years after the initial introduction of the nematode B. siricidicola. The migration of S. noctilio into the summer rainfall regions of South Africa occurred in the absence of the associated natural enemies. This resulted in rapid population growth of the pest and substantial damage was caused to plantations of Pinus patula in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. Initial attempts at introducing B. siricidicola during 2004 were not very successful. This study contributes to the understanding and adaptation of the biological control methods to the summer rainfall climate. The key finding was that in the summer rainfall climate, only the bottom third of nematode inoculated S. noctilio infested trees produced parasitized adults during the emergence period. A comparative study was done on log samples from S. noctilio infested trees collected in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal. iv An adapted nematode inoculation technique for pulpwood plantations in the summer rainfall regions was developed and implemented in mass inoculations with B. siricidicola during 2007 and 2008. Locally available herbicides were tested for suitability of use in the establishment of trap trees, which would attract ovipositing S. noctilio females in situations where low numbers of the woodwasp occur. Determination of the levels of natural B. siricidicola parasitism in S. noctilio adults during the 2008 emergence period indicate successful establishment of the nematode in KwaZulu-Natal. Successful introduction of the parasitoid wasp Ibalia leucospoides into the summer rainfall regions has also been achieved.

1. Plant quality (bottom-up effects) and natural enemies (top-down effects) affect herbivore performance. Furthermore, plant quality can also influence the impact of natural enemies. 2. Lower plant quality through reduced irrigation increased the abundance of the cryptic species from the Bemisia tabaci complex [hereafter B. tabaci Middle East Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1)], but not its natural enemies on cotton. It was therefore predicted that lower plant quality would diminish the impact of natural enemies in regulating this herbivore. 3. Over three cotton seasons, plant quality was manipulated via differential irrigation and natural enemy abundance with insecticides. Life tables were used to evaluate the impact of these factors on mortality of immature B. tabaci (MEAM1) over nine generations. 4. Mortality of B. tabaci (MEAM1) was consistently affected by natural enemies but not by plant quality. This pattern was driven by high levels of sucking predation, which was the primary (key) factor associated with changes in immature mortality across all irrigation and natural enemy treatments. Dislodgement (chewing predation and weather) and parasitism contributed as key factors in some cases. Analyses also showed that elimination of sucking predation and dislodgement would have the greatest effect on overall mortality. 5. The top-down effects of natural enemies had dominant effects on populations of B. tabaci (MEAM1) relative to the bottom-up effects of plant quality. Effects were primarily due to native generalist arthropod predators and not more host-specific aphelinid parasitoids. The findings of this study demonstrate the important role of arthropod predators in population suppression and validate the importance of conservation biological control in this system for effective pest control.

<p>The primary goal of this research study was to provide updated pest management recommendations to growers, including the reduction of insecticide applications on a calendar basis by the use of pest economic thresholds, with the purpose of maximizing insecticide efficacy while minimizing the associated negative impacts on natural enemies and their ecosystem services. </p> <p>Commercial watermelon (<i>Citrullus lanatus</i>) production in the Midwest typically relies on neonicotinoid and pyrethroid insecticides to manage insect pests, particularly striped and spotted cucumber beetles (<i>Acalymma vittatum </i>Fabricius and <i>Diabrotica undecimpunctata</i> <i>howardi</i> Barber, respectively). The role of arthropod predators in managing cucumber beetles is not well documented, and data on the effects of insecticides on predators in watermelon production are deficient. Common cucumber beetle predators include coccinellid beetles found on plants, ground-dwelling carabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) and spiders in several families that inhabit the soil surface in watermelon fields. I hypothesize that these generalist predators and the ecosystem services (e.g., pest predation) they provide are at risk from insecticides used for pest management without regard to economic thresholds. My study compared the effect of insecticide use on cucumber beetle pests, spider predators, collembola populations and field pest predation under two treatments: 1) watermelons treated with neonicotinoid soil drench and subsequent pyrethroid sprays, surrounded by corn with neonicotinoid-treated seeds (Conventional), and 2) watermelons treated only with pyrethroid spray when economic thresholds were reached, surrounded by corn with untreated seeds (IPM).</p> <p>The frequent application of insecticides decreased cucumber beetles in the watermelon plots managed with Conventional pest management; however, they also reduced spider predators, collembola densities, and field pests predation measurements, possibly due to the subsequent pyrethroids applications during the growing season. In addition, our study showed that neonicotinoid seed treatment in corn had no negative impact on any of the above-mentioned response variables measured. </p> <p>Ultimately, following an IPM strategy and the use of pest monitoring helped to reduce unnecessary insecticides applications, conservation of pest regulatory services provided by natural enemies, and possibly less ecological impact to manage significant insect pests in watermelon plots. <b><br> </b></p>

Lot of attention is paid to biological control agents of plant pathogens as it will reduce the amount of pesticides used in agriculture. Pythium oligandrum oomycete is already used commercially in the form of watering and spraying. In this work the properties of other isolates were characterized, and the metabolic changes were studied in plants of oilseed rape (Brassica napus subsp. Oleifera), whose seeds were treated with preparates based on Pythium oligandrum. In the first part of the thesis the properties of compounds secreted by isolates of Pythium oligandrum were tested. The amount of phenolic substances and the activity of endoglycosidase endo-β-1,3-glucanase, cellulase, chitinase as well as proteases were measured to assess the ability of oomycete Pythium oligandrum mycoparasitically protect the plant. Substances, especially oligandrin, which during interaction with the plant are responsible for "priming", have been observed, enabling the plant to respond rapidly to pathogen infection through systemic plant resistance. Differences between individual isolates also manifested themselves in electrophoretic separation in the protein representation. In the second part of the work, the effect of rapeseed seed treatment with isolates of Pythium oligandrum on plant metabolism was monitored. While...

This thesis outlines research conducted as part of a collaborative project between Virginia Tech and Plant and Food Research New Zealand (PFRNZ) to introduce Heringia calcarata (Loew) (Diptera: Syrphidae) to New Zealand (NZ) for biological control of woolly apple aphid (WAA), Eriosoma lanigerum (Hausmann) (Hemiptera: Aphididae). Ultimately, the introduction of H. calcarata to New Zealand will be contingent upon satisfying regulatory requirements and concerns, including documentation that it will not have an adverse effect on the existing biological control of WAA by Aphelinus mali (Haldeman) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae). As well, it will be critical to develop methods for sustained rearing of H. calcarata in captivity. Basic and applied studies were conducted toward providing essential information for advancing this project. Apple shoot sections with a WAA colony that did or did not contain mummified aphids parasitized by A. mali were deployed in pairs at the base of apple trees. There was no significant difference in the mean number of H. calcarata eggs deposited between shoots with parasitized (1.5 ± 0.34 SE) and non-parasitized colonies (1.75 ± 0.42 SE), although female H. calcarata laid eggs less frequently on colonies with a high percentage parasitization. In choice-test feeding studies, larvae were offered non-parasitized aphids in combination with aphids in an early stage of parasitization or mummified aphids. Larvae consumed significantly fewer aphids in an early stage of parasitization (10.8 ± 0.48 SE) than non-parasitized aphids (13.4 ± 0.42 SE) and very few mummies (0.4 ± 0.14 SE) compared with non-parasitized aphids (14.2 ± 0.4 SE). In no-choice feeding trials, larvae consumed significantly more non-parasitized aphids (25.3 ± 1.93 SE) than aphids in an early stage of parasitization (19.7 ± 1.85 SE) or mummified aphids (2.2 ± 0.71 SE) and significantly fewer mummified aphids were consumed than early parasitized aphids. WAA colonies in situ on the branches of potted apple trees were exposed to H. calcarata, A. mali, or both. Exposure to H. calcarata larvae independently and in combination with A. mali was shown to have a significant effect on the number of WAA compared with control colonies, and H. calcarata larvae did not affect the number of mummified aphids produced within colonies. Heringia calcarata eggs were collected by deploying excised apple shoot sections containing at least one WAA colony at the base of apple trees for 8-12 h. One or more eggs were laid on 29% of shoots (n = 233 shoots). On shoots with eggs, 2.4 ± 0.21 SE eggs per shoot were recorded. In 2012, four shipments of H. calcarata eggs and larvae (total of 178) were sent from Virginia to a quarantine containment facility in NZ. This demonstrated that juvenile H. calcarata could be successfully transported internationally. In total, 124 adult flies were generated in NZ, representing 69.9% of the number of eggs and larvae recovered upon delivery to quarantine. Field-collected gravid female H. calcarata oviposited on WAA colonies under captive conditions: 63% in 2011 (n = 8) and 80% in 2012 (n = 15). In 2012, 98% of the eggs deposited hatched. Virgin females reared from eggs in the laboratory developed mature oocytes regardless of access to pollen. The findings of this research offer valuable insights into the biology and ecology of H. calcarata that are directly relevant to the project goals and that will help guide the development of H. calcarata as a classical biological control agent for WAA in NZ. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.