Crop Protection最新文献

{"title":"Effects of Encarsia formosa (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) parasitism on the feeding preference and performance of the whitefly predator Serangium japonicum (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106959","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106959","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The relationship among the whitefly <em>Bemisia tabaci</em> (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), its predator <em>Serangium japonicum</em> (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), and its parasitoid <em>Encarsia formosa</em> (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) can be defined as intraguild predation (IGP). IGP represents an interaction that combines elements of both predation and competition between two species. In our previous study, predators (<em>S. japonicum</em>) often indirectly reduce the number of parasitoids (<em>E. formosa</em>) by consuming shared food resources, such as <em>B. tabaci</em>. To suppress whitefly outbreaks, a combination of parasitoids and predators is often released together using a mixed-species approach. However, the impact of the parasitic behavior of parasitoids on the feeding behavior of specific predators, such as <em>S. japonicum</em>, has not yet been well-studied. We conducted a laboratory study to examine how the parasitoid <em>E. formosa</em> affects the predation rates and performance of <em>S. japonicum</em>. Results indicate that <em>S. japonicum</em> shows a preference for non-parasitized whiteflies over parasitized ones, regardless of the availability of choices. Furthermore, we found a correlation between the preference for non-parasitized whiteflies and the duration of parasitization. As the developmental days of the parasitoid mummies increased, the food intake of the predatory group decreased significantly. Additionally, as the parasitoid mummy develops, <em>S. japonicum</em> spends more time exploring and probing the mummy before deciding whether to consume it. In summary, our study suggests that <em>S. japonicum</em> exhibits a significant preference for consuming non-parasitized whiteflies. Therefore, it is important to coordinate the release timing of <em>S. japonicum</em> and <em>E. formosa</em> in the biological control of <em>B. tabaci</em>.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142274245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Weeding force saving to improve profitability of cassava-legumes cropping systems in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106958","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106958","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Weeding is a common farming practice for optimal emergence, growth and maturity of crops. Smallholders in Central Africa use a traditional hoe for weed control. This is a hard and time-consuming activity. To address this bottleneck, a study was conducted at three sites, namely Walungu, Uvira, and Mulungu in South-Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), over two growing seasons (September 2020 and February 2021). The purpose was to minimize the workload involved in weed control and boosting cassava yields via time-, labour, and energy-saving through adjusted weeding. Experiments were carried out as a split-plot design with three randomized blocks at multiple locations. Weed control was assessed for hand hoe, herbicide, and single-wheeled hoe (a weeding tool that combines manpower with improved weeding precision) in a cassava-legume intercropping system. Results show that the use of herbicide translated into about 6 times less energy use than a hand hoe, accounting for a ca. 4 times reduced weeding workload, and a reduction in weeding time up to 84%. The single-wheeled hoe use accounted for almost 61% reduction in weeding energy consumed, a reduction of 40% of the weeding time, and for about 38% of the weeding load saving. Although the three weeding methods gave statistically similar yields, it nevertheless turned out that herbicide treatment achieved the lowest cost-benefit ratio (CBR) (0.2), evoking its superiority in terms of profitability over both the hand hoe and the single-wheeled hoe. The study asserted that weed control is ‘moderately heavy’ and ‘light’ when involving the single-wheeled hoe and herbicide, respectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142319428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A high-available segmentation algorithm for corn leaves and leaf spot disease based on feature fusion","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106957","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106957","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Detection and identification of corn diseases are crucial for disease control, and the segmentation of corn disease leaf image is a key step to achieve this goal. However, the images of diseased leaves in real fields are usually very complex, with characteristics of irregular shapes, blurred boundaries and unsharp background, which poses great challenges to disease prevention. To address this issue, our team constructed a dataset of diseased leaves with 857 images. Additionally, this paper proposes a high-availability segmentation algorithm for corn leaves with leaf spot disease, called SEF-UNet, which uses Res-UNet as the backbone network. The algorithm references SElayer and ELA (Efficient Local Attention). Simultaneously,we implement a feature fusion network that focuses on the output of each layer. Experimental results indicate that the Mean Intersection over Union (mIOU),Mean Pixel Accuracy (mPA), Mean Precision (mPrecision), and Mean Recall (mRecall),metrics of SEF-UNet network reach 92.62%, 95.74%, 96.63% and 95.64%.We compared our proposed method with UNet, Res-UNet, PspNet, DeepLabv3+, DANet, CCNet, Segformer-b3, and SEF-UNet under the same experimental conditions. The results demonstrate that our method significantly improves the accuracy of diseased leaf image segmentation. It provides a reference method for disease monitoring, as well as a technical basis for assessing disease severity.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142274246","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flupyradifurone application: A promising approach to curtail tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) transmission vectored by Bemisia tabaci in potato farming","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106951","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106951","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The whitefly, <em>Bemisia tabaci</em>, serves as a carrier and transmitter of the tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) in potatoes, leading to the emergence of potato apical leaf curl disease. Among the six insecticides tested against <em>B. tabaci</em>, flupyradifurone resulted in the highest mortality of nymphs and adults. Three effective insecticides were then further evaluated for their ability to prevent the acquisition and transmission of ToLCNDV by <em>B. tabaci</em>. Utilizing qPCR techniques, we determined the amount of virus acquired by <em>B. tabaci</em> from virus-positive plants that had undergone prior insecticide treatment. The results revealed a significant reduction in virus levels in the whitefly's body, flupyradifurone was found to be most effective among the tested insecticides in reducing ToLCNDV acquisition. Flupyradifurone also exhibited the highest efficacy in reducing ToLCNDV transmission by <em>B. tabaci</em>. Experiments conducted in the glasshouse 24 h post insecticide application demonstrated the complete prevention of ToLCNDV transmission in all plants treated with flupyradifurone. In the field experiment also, flupyradifurone effectively suppressed whitefly-mediated ToLCNDV transmission for up to 14 days following insecticide application. The findings indicate that the use of flupyradifurone has the potential to manage the vector population and control associated viral disease, which is known to cause significant losses in potato crops.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142274243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Resistance in diverse maize genotypes to invasive fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) reveals potential morpho-biochemical traits","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106956","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106956","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Fall armyworm, <em>Spodoptera frugiperda</em> (J. E. Smith) is a major invasive insect pest of maize causing severe economic losses in all major maize-growing countries. Host-plant resistance is one of the key tactics for reducing the losses caused by this pest. In the present study, maize genotypes were screened under artificial infestation to identify resistant sources to FAW and determined the pivotal morpho-biochemical traits associated with resistance. The findings revealed that four maize genotypes, namely CML 67, DMRE 63, CML 72, and CML 141, exhibited resistance to FAW. Furthermore, several morpho-biochemical traits were identified as influential factors in conferring resistance. Trichome density, leaf thickness, cob characteristics <em>viz.,</em> cob length, cob width, husk parameters <em>viz.,</em> husk length, husk width, number of husk layers, husk weight, and husk tightness, and yield parameters demonstrated negative correlations with leaf damage rating among the various maize genotypes. On the other hand, leaf morphology including leaf length, leaf width and plant architecture such as plant height, number of nodes per plant, and internodal distance exhibited positive correlations with leaf damage rating. Nitrogen, phosphorous, protein, total soluble sugars, and amino acids were positively correlated with leaf damage rating, while potassium, acid detergent fiber, acid detergent lignin, total phenol, and total tannin contents exhibited negative correlations. These results suggest that certain traits, including trichome density, leaf thickness, cob characteristics, husk parameters, and biochemical traits significantly contribute resistance to fall armyworm in maize. Importantly, this research is expected to facilitate the selection of FAW-resistant lines for integration into maize breeding programs, thereby contributing to sustainable maize production.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142274361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Monitoring of Larinus spp. (Coleoptera Curculionidae) infesting cardoon and development of a binomial sampling plan for the estimation of Larinus cynarae infestation level in Mediterranean conditions","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106955","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106955","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The cultivation of cardoon, <em>Cynara cardunculus</em> var. <em>altilis</em>, for multi-purpose uses has increased substantially in recent decades. However, in some cardoon growing areas, the production of achenes is threatened by several insects, especially the weevils <em>Larinus cynarae</em> and <em>Larinus scolymi</em>. Due to the lack of specific monitoring and sampling programs for these pests, the aims of this work were to test the reliability of chromotropic traps for adult <em>Larinus</em> spp. monitoring and to develop binomial sequential sampling plans to assess the infestation level of <em>L. cynarae</em> in cardoon cultivations in a Mediterranean area. Field observations were conducted in two different cardoon growing areas in Sardinia (Italy) in 2019 and 2020. Purple- and red-colored cross-vane traps, placed at 1 m and 2 m above the ground, were utilized for monitoring <em>Larinus</em> spp. adults, and binomial sequential sampling plans were developed for <em>L. cynarae</em> based on the count of egg masses on flower heads for sample sizes of 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 flower heads. The purple traps at 2 m above the ground were effective in monitoring <em>L. scolymi</em>, whereas red and purple traps were ineffective in monitoring <em>L. cynarae</em> adults at both 1 m and 2 m above the ground. Among different binomial sampling plans, a sample size of 70 flower heads is needed to obtain reliable estimates of <em>L. cynarae</em> infestations at or above 25% of infested flowers. Our findings constitute a baseline for the development of an integrated pest management program for the control of <em>Larinus</em> spp. infestations in cardoon-growing areas in Mediterranean environment.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261219424003831/pdfft?md5=66095e4e67d04d3be7c364876c5d9e7a&pid=1-s2.0-S0261219424003831-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142239985","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrated biological control of Diaspis echinocacti (Bouché) on Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Mill (Cactaceae) using predatory ladybirds and fungal pathogens","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106950","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106950","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Diaspis echinocacti</em> (Bouché) (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) causes severe damage to <em>Opuntia</em> spp. (Cactaceae) worldwide, necessitating effective control measures. In this study, we tested the single and combined use of predatory ladybirds and a fungal pathogen on <em>D. echinocacti</em> infesting <em>Opuntia ficus-indica</em> (L.) Mill. Plants under screenhouse conditions (mean 26.32 °C, 55.1% RH.). The treatments were: untreated control, 0.003% Tween 80 (TW), <em>Chilocorus bipustulatus</em> (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) (CB) alone, <em>Exochomus nigripennis</em> (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) (EN) alone, entomopathogenic fungi <em>Alternaria murispora</em> (AM) alone, AM + CB, AM + EN, and mineral oil (MO) (positive control). Treatment efficacy was evaluated weekly for five weeks. AM + EN and AM + CB treatments significantly reduced egg counts to 4.89 and 2.44 by week 5, respectively. For motile stages, the AM + CB and AM + EN treatments were most effective, reducing counts to 6.89 and 9.56 by week 5. AM alone resulted in the highest number of mummies (<em>D. echinocacti</em> killed by <em>A. murispora</em>) (29.67) by week 5. For predator densities, <em>C. bipustulatus</em> peaked at 36.11 individuals per cladode by week 3 in the CB-only treatment, while <em>E. nigripennis</em> peaked at 32.33 individuals per cladode by week 3 in the EN-only treatment. Both CB and EN densities were higher in single treatments compared to the combined treatments throughout the study. Combining <em>A. murispora</em> with <em>C. bipustulatus</em> or <em>E. nigripennis</em> significantly reduced <em>D. echinocacti</em> infestations on <em>O. ficus-indica</em> without affecting plant quality (visual score &gt;9 by week 5). Prolonged exposure enhanced efficacy, showing promise for effective non-chemical pest management.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142239986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Field evaluation of symbiont-targeted control of Halyomorpha halys in hazelnut crop","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106952","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106952","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Halyomorpha halys</em> has emerged as one of the most damaging pests for hazelnut production. Due to the continuous reduction of available options for chemical control, alternative strategies are required. A promising and sustainable alternative is the use of symbiont-targeted control. Treatment of the egg surface with a biocomplex containing copper, zinc, and citric acid has been shown to effectively prevent the acquisition of the endosymbiont ‘<em>Candidatus</em> Pantoea carbekii’ by <em>H. halys</em> nymphs, resulting in high nymph mortality under laboratory conditions. The aim of this work was to assess the field efficacy of treatments targeting the <em>H. halys</em> symbiont in hazelnut orchards to optimize spray applications. Treatments with the anti-symbiont biocomplex were performed in an orchard infested with <em>H. halys</em> during 2022 and 2023. To assess product efficacy, <em>H. halys</em> egg masses were glued on cardboard tags and hung on different positions of plants canopy before the treatments. The wetting percentage of egg masses according to the position of the egg on the plant canopy was measured; eggs were then reared to evaluate nymphal mortality after hatching. Symbiont acquisition was measured by quantitative PCR. A preliminary test to set the spraying conditions revealed that a higher fan speed induced higher mortality of the newborns from treated egg masses, although it did not affect the wetting rate of cardboards. In addition, cardboard tags hung in the central part of the canopy and those closer to the sprayer showed the highest egg coverage, whereas those in the peripheral row were less covered. However, nymphal mortality was not correlated with the percentage of cardboard tags coverage, although it was correlated with symbiont acquisition. A significant reduction in the percentage of damaged hazelnuts was observed in the treated plot compared to an untreated control, confirming the efficacy of symbiont-targeted control in hazelnut orchards.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0261219424003806/pdfft?md5=3784431b72435a1427b5391fe1bd21bd&pid=1-s2.0-S0261219424003806-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142239981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dual-strategy approach for Rhynchophorus ferrugineus control: Endophytic Beauveria bassiana and Bacillus thuringiensis topical application","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106954","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106954","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In an innovative approach to biological pest management, the entomopathogenic efficacy of endophytically colonized <em>Beauveria bassiana</em> and topically applied <em>Bacillus thuringiensis</em> was evaluated against various larval instars (2nd, 4th, and 6th) of the red palm weevil (RPW), <em>Rhynchophorus ferrugineus</em>. Initially, date palm leaf petioles were inoculated with five distinct isolates of the fungus to ascertain their endophytic potential over two years. Subsequently, the most proficiently colonized fungal isolate was selected for subsequent experimentation. During individual entomopathogen applications, larval instars of RPW were presented with plant petioles and colonized with fungus at 30 days post-inoculation or immersed in bacterial inoculum. Ιn combined treatments, larvae were exposed to both entomopathogen-treated plant petioles concurrently. The tested bacterium was administered at three concentrations (30, 40, and 50 μg/ml). Larval mortalities were markedly lower in treatments involving individual entomopathogens, whereas integrated applications yielded higher mortalities. Treatments associated with heightened larval mortalities corresponded to diminished pupation, adult emergence, and egg eclosion rates. Furthermore, the simultaneous application of both entomopathogens bolstered larval mortalities of RPW both additively and synergistically, with concentration also playing an important role. Similarly, the developmental periods of various insect stages were substantially influenced by combined entomopathogen applications. The inherent prevalence of these pathogens and their ability to colonize crop plants internally for extended periods render them promising agents against cryptic-feeding insects like RPW. However, further evaluation of suitable entomopathogen strains and optimal doses under field conditions is imperative before formulating concrete recommendations for date palm growers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142357658","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Anastatus japonicus Ashmead, a potential biological control agent of Riptortus pedestris (Fabricius)","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106945","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cropro.2024.106945","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p><em>Riptortus pedestris</em> (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Alydidae) is a significant pest of soybean production in China. While biological control would be a desirable means to manage this pest, little research on the use of parasitoids against <em>R. pedestris</em> has been done. In this study, for the parasitoid <em>Anastatus japonicus</em> Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Eupelmidae), we measured the parasitism rate in <em>R. pedestris</em>, the emergence rate of parasitoid progeny, and mortality of eggs from host-feeding. Parasitoids of different ages were assessed against <em>R. pedestris</em> eggs of various ages under laboratory conditions. In addition, the development and longevity of <em>A</em>. <em>japonicus</em> reared on <em>R. pedestris</em> egg were also measured. We found the maximum parasitism rate of <em>A</em>. <em>japonicus</em> was 54.6% on <em>R. pedestris</em> egg. And the maximum emergence rate of <em>A</em>. <em>japonicus</em> was 50.0% from all offered <em>R. pedestris</em> eggs. Mortality from parasitoid host-feeding was 43.8% when 1-day-old <em>R. pedestris</em> eggs were offered to 6-day-old <em>A. japonicus</em> parasitoids. For older eggs, parasitism rates were lower, making 1-day old eggs the optimal host age for use in mass rearing. Longevity of the offspring (F₁) generation of <em>A. japonicus</em> were 10 (males) and 23 (females) days. The developmental times of the F₁ offspring were 21.9 (males) and 21.7 (females) days. The parasitism rate and the rate of mortality due to host feeding caused by parasitoid progeny (F₁) generation were 56.3, and 43.8%, respectively. Among all the eggs parasitized not subjected to host feeding, 98.5% yielded adult parasitoids. Among all emerging <em>A. japonicus</em>, the sex ratio (as % female) in the F₂ generation was 45%, which was significantly higher than that in the first generation (F₁) (18%). These results suggest that <em>A. japonicus</em> could be a potential biological control agent for use against <em>R. pedestris.</em></p></div>","PeriodicalId":10785,"journal":{"name":"Crop Protection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142239983","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}