Insecticidal compositions of natural pyrethrins and substituted benzodioxolanes from vegetable oils

To prevent the resistance of insect pests to insecticides, various methods are used - the rotation of the drugs used, the joint application of drugs from different chemical groups, the use of the fumigation method of biologically active compounds, as well as the inclusion of synergistic substances in insecticidal compositions that enhance the biological activity of the main active substance. The use of synergistic substances can significantly increase the effectiveness of insecticides at a lower consumption rate of the drug. The aim of the work was to develop effective insecticidal pyrotechnic compositions, including environmentally friendly synergistic substances based on sesame oil. As a result, effective insecticidal compositions were developed based on neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, organophosphorus compounds and sesame oil, which provides a significant synergistic effect of active substances on insect pests of agricultural crops - greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum). It was shown that during the treatment by spraying, the composition containing 24% of sesame oil, as well as 86% of neonicotinoids, pyrethroids, and organophosphorus compounds had the greatest insecticidal effect (27% death of insects). When carrying out the treatment by fumigation, the compositions containing 23–24% of sesame oil, as well as 87–86% of these insecticides, had the greatest insecticidal effect (more than 90% of insect death). It is shown that the developed compositions can be used both by spraying agricultural plants and by fumigation, by burning a pyrotechnic composition mixed with a composite base. Fumigation has been found to be the most effective method of delivering insecticidal compositions to pests of agricultural plants.

Assignment of (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of major fatty acid components of South African produced vegetable oils was attempted using a method in which the vegetable oil was spiked with a standard triacylglycerol. This proved to be inadequate and therefore a new rapid and potentially generic graphical linear correlation method is proposed for assignment of the (13)C NMR spectra of major fatty acid components of apricot kernel, avocado pear, grapeseed, macadamia nut, mango kernel and marula vegetable oils. In this graphical correlation method, chemical shifts of fatty acids present in a known standard triacylglycerol is plotted against the corresponding chemical shifts of fatty acids present in the vegetable oils. This new approach (under carefully defined conditions and concentrations) was found especially useful for spectrally crowded regions where significant peak overlap occurs and was validated with the well-known (13)C NMR spectrum of olive oil which has been extensively reported in the literature. In this way, a full assignment of the (13)C{1H} NMR spectra of the vegetable oils, as well as tripalmitolein was readily achieved and the resonances belonging to the palmitoleic acid component of the triacylglycerols in the case of macadamia nut and avocado pear oil resonances were also assigned for the first time in the (13)C NMR spectra of these oils.

IntroductionWith the predicted 9-10 billion world population increase by 2050 and its accompanying need for sustainable food production, and with the harsh climate conditions challenging agriculture and food security in many countries world-wide, employing “horticultural protected cultivation practices” in farming for seasonal and off-seasonal crop production is on the rise, among which is the use of agricultural greenhouses. The importance of greenhouse farming has been, indeed, evident by the perceived increase in year-round crops production, curtail in production risks, upsurge in agricultural profits, outreaching food stability and security in many countries globally. Yet, and despite this acknowledged success of employing greenhouses in farming, many constraints, including the presence of insect pests, still chaperoned this practice over the years, significantly impacting crop quality and production.MethodsAs such, we assessed in this study the status of “insect pests” in the greenhouse model by collecting insects from different greenhouse sectors grown with tomatoes and cucumbers and identified the collected insects using relevant identification keys. To further explore the pest paradigm in greenhouses, we then focused on particularly studying Trialeurodes vaporariorum (TRIAVA), a key insect species among the collected and identified insects in the studied greenhouse model and a significant pest with an impactful effect on many crops worldwide. To do so, we traced the abundance of TRIAVA in the tomato and cucumber grown greenhouse sectors over the period of the study, analyzed its metagenome and associated its abundance with crop yield.Results and discussionOur findings revealed TRIAVA hosted microbes with aptitudes to either serve as symbiotic microorganisms and protect TRIAVA against pathogens or to potentially cause damage to crops. This work provides additional insight into the insect pests paradigm in greenhouses, an upshot that could serve integrated insect pest management strategies in greenhouses for optimal agricultural practices.

Extensive analyses of diesel–vegetable oil–n-butanol ternary blends in a diesel engine

Chemometric classification and quantification of sesame oil adulterated with other vegetable oils based on fatty acids composition by gas chromatography

The use of vegetable butters and oils shows promising results in the treatment of skin wounds, as they have an effective impact on the phases of the wound-healing process through their antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidative activities and by promoting cell proliferation, increasing collagen synthesis, stimulating dermal reconstruction, and repairing the skin's lipid barrier function. In this article, in vitro and in vivo studies of argan (Argania spinosa), avocado (Persea americana), black cumin (Nigella sativa), calophyllum (Calophyllum inophyllum), coconut (Cocos nucifera), cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon), grape (Vitis vinifera), green coffee (Coffea arabica), lentisk (Pistacia lentiscus), linseed (Linum usitatissimum), lucuma (Pouteria lucuma), mango (Mangifera indica), olive (Olea europaea), pomegranate (Punica granatum), pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo), rapeseed (Brassica napus), sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides), and sunflower (Helianthus annuus) oils were reviewed. In many cases, vegetable oils proved to be more effective than synthetic wound-healing compounds used as controls. The fatty-acid components of vegetable oils are assumed to play a major role in the wound-healing process, in particular polyunsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic acid. Evidence shows that oils with a higher linoleic to oleic acid ratio are more effective for lipid barrier repair. However, in depth studies are needed to gain knowledge about vegetable oils' effects on the skin and vice versa.

Besides triglycerides, the main amount of components of vegetable oils, there are several other natural components present in small quantity in oils, and such materials, too, which are forming or getting into oils in course of storage, transport or processing.

Anise (Pimpinella anisum L.) seeds have various nutritional and therapeutic benefits and are thus considered a valuable addition to animal and human health. Hence, in this study, we aimed to induce the nutritive and biological value of anise seeds. To this end, the potential biofortification effect of the endophytic Actinomycetota sp. JW0824 strain, isolated during the fall of 2023 from the medicinal plant Achyranthes aspera, exhibiting natural distribution in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia, was investigated in four varieties of anise seeds from Egypt, Tunisia, Syria, and Morocco. Results revealed significant increments (p < 0.05) in the seed dry weight percentage (DW%) and oil yields. In line with increased biomass accumulation, the metabolism of the primary and secondary metabolites was increased. There were differential increases in proteins, sugars, flavonoids, alkaloids, phenols, vitamins (e.g., β-carotene, ascorbic acid), and essential oil components (e.g., phenylpropanoids and monoterpenes), along with their precursor phenylalanine. Consistently, the activity of L-phenylalanine aminolyase (PAL) was increased in the Egyptian and Tunisian varieties at 83.88% and 77.19%, respectively, while 3-deoxy-D-arabino-heptulosonate-7-phosphate synthase (DAHPS) activity increased in all varieties, with a significant 179.31% rise in the Egyptian variety. These findings highlight the beneficial effects of Actinomycetota sp. JW0824 as a bioinoculant for anise seeds, suggesting its potential application in agricultural practices to improve seed yield and quality. Further field trials are recommended to assess the commercial viability of this endophyte for enhancing anise seed production and potentially benefiting other plant species.

Entomopathogenic fungi (e.f.) are important agents of biological control of insects. Two aspects, among others, are important for the use of e.f. against insect pests: the logistics of e.f. strain acquisition, and the activity of individual strains against multiple insects. Soil is the natural reservoir for many e.f., but only few strains used against insect pests originate from soil; most have been isolated from insects. Also, there are few reports that simultaneously compare the activity of individual strains of e.f. (of insect or soil origin) against more than one insect species. This is important for the deployment of e.f. in agroecosystems, where simultaneous control of several insect pests is very often desirable. In this work we determined and compared the simultaneous activity of local strains of e.f. (isolated from soil or insects at Saltillo, Mexico) against important regional pests: fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum, and potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli. Against all three insects, one Beauveria bassiana strain from soil was as active as or more active than other B. bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae strains from insect or soil origin. In some localities, native individual strains of e.f. from soil might have good activity against multiple local insect pests. We recommend the isolation and testing of local soil strains of e.f. for use in local biocontrol projects.

There is a large variety and trademarks of vegetable oils in Bangladesh. The oils have characteristics very similar to each other and often cannot be classified by the observation of color, odor or taste. This paper proposes a vibrational spectroscopic method like FTIR in association with chemometric techniques to classify vegetable oils like: sunflower, mustard, sesame, soybean, castor, olive and palm oils from different manufacturers. In the FTIR spectra of oil, as information about fatty acid composition is concentrated in the range of 4400-200 cm-1 principal component analysis (PCA) was applied on the standardized full FTIR spectral data of this region for vegetable oils to totally capture the FTIR spectral pattern; seven varieties of vegetable oils could be successfully classified from their PCA scores. PCA of FTIR spectra of different known vegetable oils is used to determine the identity of several unknown vegetable oils. The unknowns are then analyzed, plotted, and identified based on their proximity to the known in principal component space. For the multivariate analysis PCA and soft independent modeling of class analogy (SIMCA) and support vector machines (SVMs) were used. 85% and 14% variability of data was explained by PC1 and PC2 respectively. PC1 has strong positive correlation with soybean, sunflower, palm and olive oil while strong negative correlation with mustard, castor and sesame oil. Soybean oils are positively and sesame oils are negatively correlated with PC2. Unknown oil samples can be identified properly by used supervised methods i.e. SIMCA, SVM by developing model with the help of PCA. The major interest of this method using chemometric analysis of spectral data is in their rapidity, since no chemical treatment of samples is required.Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 50(4), 233-240, 2015

The fat – soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and the most natural antioxidants ( T.polyphenols, tocopherols, chlorophylls, carotenoids, δ – oryzanol, phenolic and flavonoid compounds) of seventeen vegetable oils (olive, corn crystal, corn lecuir, sunflower, palm olein, soybean, linseed, cottonseed, sesame, rice bran, peanut, blending, wheat germ, safflower, rapeseed, castor and coconut oils) were estimated. Results showed that, parameters established ( acidity, peroxide value, K232 and 270nm.) to measure level of quality and fatty acid composition of olive oil were the best compared to other studied oils and also were in side the range reported by the Egyptain standareds for olive oil and International Olive Oil Cuoncel (IOOC).All vegetable oils contain a great amounts from vitamin E, especially corn lecuir, sesame, safflower, soybean and coconut oils was 36661, 30811,22540, 20334 and 16384 ppm., respectively, contrary with vitamin K recorded a lower values in all studied vegetable oil, it was ranging from 0.3 ppm in soybean oil to 6.1 ppm in rapeseed oil. On the other side safflower oil contained a higher amount from vitamin A (336.9 ppm), while linseed oil contained a considerable amount from vitamin D (46.5 ppm) followed that, rapeseed oil 23.3 ppm then corn crystal oil 22.9 ppm and wheat germ oil 21 ppm. Olive oil had a higher amount from T.polyphenols 324.91 ppm. Also results showed that, corn lecuir oil contained the highest value from T. tocopherols (212.53 ppm) compared to other vegetable oils. Carotenoids was the highest value in wheat germ oil 10.03 ppm, followed that in linseed oil 4.76 ppm , in rapeseed oil 4.5 ppm and in olive and castor oils were 2.28 and 2.05 ppm respectively. All studied vegetable oils had nearly amounts from chlorophylls, it was ranging from 0.538 ppm in corn crystal to 2.517 ppm in olive oil. δ – oryzanol contents found to be higher values in rice bran and wheat germ oils, (0.365 and 0.203 %, respectively,) but it was the lowest value in linseed oil (0.002 %) compared with other oils. This results indicated that, all vegetable oils enriched with the most identified phenolic compounds. Also it is clear from results narerigin compound was the highest value in some vegetable oils under study compared to other flavonoid compounds, whearas recorded the highest value in sesame oil (39.5 ppm.), followed by corn crystal oil (5.9 ppm.) then in corn lecuir oil (4.5 ppm.).

Population dynamics and the economics of invasive species management: The greenhouse whitefly in California-grown strawberries

Realized heritability (h2) of resistance to dicrotophos in greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood, was estimated from a laboratory selection experiment. Five generations of selection increased the LC50 approximately 13‐fold. Estimated h2 of resistance to dicrotophos was 0.40 when calculated with the method of Tabashnik (1992) and 0.35 with the method of Tanaka &amp; Noppun (1989). These results suggest that 35 to 40% of the total phenotypic variation in resistance was caused by additive genetic variation. For thirteen previously reported estimates of h2 of insecticide resistance in other insect pests, the mean was 0.29. The relatively high h2 of dicrotophos resistance for T. vaporariorum is consistent with rapid resistance development in field populations.

Most greenhouse polyethylene plastic films contain ultraviolet (UV) light-blocking components added to prolong the life of the material and maintain high levels of transmission of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). Standard greenhouse films generally block the majority of UV light transmission at wavelengths below 360 nm; however, some materials block a greater portion of the UV light spectrum by blocking transmission below 380 nm (Antignus et al., 1996; Costa and Robb, 1999). Previous studies conducted in completely enclosed greenhouses reported reductions in whitefly, aphid, and thrips infestations in vegetable crops grown under <380-nm blocking plastic compared to those grown under <360-nm blocking plastics (Antignus et al., 1996, 2001). The presumed method of insect population reduction is the alteration of normal UV wavelength patterns used by insects during orientation and flight (Antignus, 2000; Antignus et al., 1996, 2001). When silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring), greenhouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum Westwood), or western flower thrips [Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande)] were released in small, completely enclosed tunnels, sticky trap catches were lower under <380-nm plastics than <360-nm plastics, indicating a preference to enter tunnels that transmitted more UV light (Costa and Robb 1999; Costa et al., 2002). Greenhouse structures in Southern California and other moderate climates often have sides or roof vents that open to allow natural ventilation and cooling. A previous study on flowering crops conducted in small (4 × 8 × 3 m) open-sided hoop-houses found significantly with six to eight yellow sticky traps per treatment (each 10 ×18 cm; Seabright, Emeryville, Calif.) adjusted to plant canopy height. Traps were replaced and the number of insects recorded weekly. In addition, three leaves from five plants per bay (30–40 plants per treatment) were randomly sampled weekly and the total number of insects present was recorded. Greenhouse whitefly and western flower thrips were the dominant insect species observed in these trials. Over the course of the three replicates, the mean number of whiteflies and thrips trapped on sticky cards under the <380-nm plastic-covered houses was not significantly different from the number trapped under the standard <360-nm plastic (whiteflies: F = 0.64, df = 1374, P = 0.426; thrips: F = 2.14, df = 1374, P < 0.145). Similarly, there was no significant difference in the mean numbers of whiteflies (F = 0.08 = df = 1374, P = 0.777) or thrips (F < 0.01, df = 1374, P < 0.963) counted on plants under the two types of plastics. However, the mean number of leafminers (Liriomyza sp.) trapped on sticky cards and counted on plants under the <380nm plastic-covered houses was significantly lower than the number trapped under <360-nm plastic (cards: F = 26.81, df = 1374, P < 0.001; plants: F = 14.35, df = 1374, P < 0.001). Aphid populations were too low to make meaningful statistical comparisons. In a previous study using smaller opensided greenhouses, we found that populations of thrips were lower under <380-nm plastics compared to <360-nm (Costa et al., 2002). However, no effects on thrips populations were observed in this study. Thus, it appears that increasing the overall covered area did not increase the effectiveness of the <380-nm plastic in reducing insect pests. In the open-sided greenhouses the presence of some unfiltered light and the passive movement of insects into the greenhouses by wind may have reduced effects of the UV-blocking materials. The benefits to integrating the use of high-UV-blocking plastics into an existing pest management program will vary with the type of greenhouse structures used and types of insect and disease pressures commonly encountered. The effect of the high UV-blocking material on insects has been greatest when used in completely closed structures with little or no unfiltered light entering the system.

The addition of vegetable oils to the diets of dairy goats is an alternative to supplemental feeding during the dry period and improves the lipid profile of milk and by-products. Cheeses were produced using milk from cross bred goats (Saanen × Alpina) fed diets enriched with 4% vegetable oil (faveleira, sesame or castor), the fatty acid profile of cheeses was studied. Supplementation with vegetable oils did not increase the total fat percentage of the cheese (p ≥ 0.05) but did increase the percentage of CLA isomers, long-chain fatty acids (LCFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA); in addition, the index of desirable fatty acids (DFA - expressed as the sum of unsaturated fatty acids plus stearic acid) was increased for cheese made from milk from goats fed sesame or faveleira oil. Cheeses may have had increased percentages of cis-9,trans-11-CLA due to the supplementation of animal diets with vegetable oils rich in C18:2, such as faveleira and sesame oils. The fatty acid profile of goat cheese did not change significantly in response to the use of castor oil. Thus, the addition of sesame and faveleira oils to goat diets positively altered the fatty acid profile, which improved the nutritional characteristics of the fat present in goat cheese.