Fruit Insect Research Articles

The Effect of Different Methods and Quantities of Pollination on the Infestation Percentage by two of Early Date Fruit Insect Pests in Date Palm Farms in New Valley Governorate, Egypt

The Effect of Different Methods and Quantities of Pollination on the Infestation Percentage by two of Early Date Fruit Insect Pests in Date Palm Farms in New Valley Governorate, Egypt

Knowledge of an insect pest negatively affects sensory perception and emotional response to blueberries

Managing insect pests is a major challenge for sustainable food production. Beyond the impacts of insects in reducing food quality and quantity, insects often elicit negative emotions in humans including disgust and fear. Negative emotional responses might lead to impaired enjoyment of food when insects are encountered alongside food. Using a sensory trial, we asked how providing information about an insect pest (Blueberry maggot, Rhagoletis mendax (Diptera: Tephritidae)) affects the sensory perception and emotional response to blueberries (the fruits it infests). Participants in the sensory trial consumed and evaluated an initial sample of blueberries. Participants were then randomly assigned to receive information about the blueberry maggot (Maggot-Informed) or a bumblebee (Bumblebee-Informed) that functioned as a control, before they evaluated a second blueberry sample of identical origin. Maggot-informed participants rated blueberries lower with respect to flavour, texture, and overall liking compared to Bumblebee-Informed participants. Maggot-Informed participants were less likely to describe blueberries as “sweet”, “juicy”, “fruity” and purple compared to initial samples. Maggot-Informed participants reported lower frequencies of “happy”, “joyful”, “pleasant”, and “satisfied” emotions but more frequently reported disgust compared to the initial sample. Bumblebee-Informed participants did not perceive any differences beyond a reduction in the frequency of reporting the emotion “happy” compared to the initial sample. Our results demonstrate that knowledge of an insect pest can negatively impact the sensory evaluation and emotional response to food. This study reaffirms the low tolerance of consumers towards insects in fresh fruit and demonstrates the importance of effective pest control.

Repelência de Ceratitis capitata (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) a biofertilizantes e extratos vegetais

Ceratitis capitata is considered the key pest of fruit production worldwide, due to its wide host variety. As an alternative control method for this pest, the objective of this research was to evaluate the repellency of C. capitata to liquid biofertilizers added to plant extracts. The repellency was evaluated through olfactory arenas, using the biofertilizer Vairo and the plant enrichment, diluted in distilled water at 10% and added in equal parts with plant extracts of neem, pitanga and rue at concentrations of 30, 40 and 50% p/v. The larval infestation index was evaluated from the fruits used in the repellency bioassay. The addition of plant biofertilizer and neem extract at 30% w/v showed the highest repellency index for C. capitata, resulting in only 1.6% of visiting flies. The lowest rate of larval infestation was observed in the Vairo biofertilizer + rue extract and in the plant biofertilizer + neem at concentrations of 30 and 40% w/v, with averages of less than one larva/fruit. Vairo biofertilizer + neem extract and plant biofertilizer + pitanga reduces the number of adult insects in fruits and Vairo biofertilizer + rue extract and plant biofertilizer + neem reduces the number of C. capitata larvae in treated fruits. The addition of biofertilizers to the plant extracts analyzed influences the repellency and larval incidence of C. capitata when the fruits are treated with these mixtures.

Deep Learning Embedded into Smart Traps for Fruit Insect Pests Detection

This article presents a novel approach to identify two species of fruit insect pests as part of a network of intelligent traps designed to monitor the population of these insects in a plantation. The proposed approach uses a simple Digital Image Processing technique to detect regions in the image that are likely the monitored pests and an Artificial Neural Network to classify the regions into the right class given their characteristics. This identification is done essentially by a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), which learns the characteristics of the insects based on their images made from the adhesive floor inside a trap. We have trained several CNN architectures, with different configurations, through a data set of images collected in the field. We aimed to find the model with the highest precision and the lowest time needed for the classification. The best performance in classification was achieved by ResNet18, with a precision of 93.55% and 91.28% for the classification of the pests focused on this study, named Ceratitis capitata and Grapholita molesta , respectively, and a 90.72%overall accuracy. Yet, the classification must be embedded on a resource-constrained system inside the trap, then we exploited SqueezeNet, MobileNet, and MNASNet architectures to achieve a model with lesser inference time and small losses in accuracy when compared to the models we assessed. We also attempted to quantize our highest precision model to reduce even more inference time in embedded systems, which achieved a precision of 88.76% and 89.73% for C. capitata and G. molesta , respectively; notwithstanding, a decrease of roughly 2% on the overall accuracy was endured. According to the expertise of our partner company, our results are worthwhile for a real-world application, since general human laborers have a precision of about 85%.

Sublethal Dose of β-Cypermethrin Impairs the Olfaction of Bactrocera dorsalis by Suppressing the Expression of Chemosensory Genes.

Simple SummaryThe oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is a pest that causes huge economic losses in the fruit and vegetable industry. β-cypermethrin has been widely used in the orchard to control this major pest. According to a previous study, the oriental fruit fly developed significant resistance against β-cypermethrin in fields, which indicated that the oriental fruit fly has been exposed to sublethal concentrations of β-cypermethrin in the field for a long time. However, the sublethal effect and its mechanism are still unclear. In our present study, after treatment with sublethal concentrations of β-cypermethrin, the olfaction was disrupted significantly and the chemosensory genes were suppressed obviously. Our data demonstrated that the sublethal dose of β-cypermethrin impairs the olfaction of the pest insects by suppressing the expression of chemosensory genes, which provided theoretical guidance for the rational use of pesticides in fields.The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is one of the most destructive fruit insect pests. β-cypermethrin has been widely used in the orchard to control this major insect. Based on the resistance monitoring in 2011, B. dorsalis developed significant resistance against β-cypermethrin in fields. This indicated that the B. dorsalis has been exposed to sublethal concentrations of β-cypermethrin in the field for a long time. Thus, it is urgent to understand the sublethal effects of β-cypermethrin on this fly to guide the rational use of an insecticide. According to the olfactory preference assays and electroantennogram (EAG) recording, the B. dorsalis after β-cypermethrin exposure (LD30 = 10 ng/fly) severely decreased the ability to perceive the tested odorants. Moreover, we then performed quantitative real-time PCR and found the chemosensory genes including odorant receptor co-receptor (BdorORco) and ionotropic receptor co-receptors (BdorIRcos) were obviously suppressed. Our results demonstrated that the sublethal dose of β-cypermethrin impairs the olfaction of the pest insects by suppressing the expression of chemosensory genes (BdorORco and BdorIRcos), which expanded our knowledge of the sublethal effects of the pesticide on insects.

Biological Control of Two Date Fruit Insect Pests Using Entomopathogenic Viruses

Biological Control of Two Date Fruit Insect Pests Using Entomopathogenic Viruses

Aethina tumida (Small Hive Beetle; SHB) and Tropilaelaps spp. Mite; an emerging threat to Turkey Honey Bees

Turkey is the second largest honey producer in the world. However, the beekeeping sector, especially the export of honey and honey products, is not supported by income compatible with this asset. The main reasons for this discrepancy are the presence of honey bee diseases (predators) and their residues in honey. Due to the observation of Aethina tumida (small hive beetle; SHB) in Europe (Italy) and Tropilealaps spp. Iran’s border regions close to Turkey, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Turkey has raised its alert level for these two notifiable diseases. Aethina tumida is a fruit insect originally from South Africa and it has later adapted to bee colonies. In the early 2000s, the agent came to North America with imported fruits and caused serious bee losses. SHB, which has spread to 12 countries so far, caused serious economic losses in the countries it entered and could not be eliminated. Tropilaelaps spp. is an ectoparasite that cannot survive for long without honey bee brood it feeds on and needs to survive. Tropilaelaps mite even suppresses Varroa when found in a colony and extinguishes the colony in a short time. It is a fact that these two pests may spread rapidly in Turkey due to the practice of migratory beekeeping and they can cause serious damage to our beekeeping.

Volatile compounds of some blueberries cultivars infested with fruit fly Ceratitis capitata

It is important to understand the fruit insect interaction mechanism to developing strategies to control the pests. The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Medfly) infested some blueberries Vaccinium spp. cultivars, and their volatile compounds composition of infested fruit of those cultivars has been studied. Head space solid-phase microextraction extraction- gas chromatography (SPME-GC/MS) has been used to detect volatiles on these cultivars. First Blush 4514 and Brigitta 1403 Australian cultivars used in this experiment. A total of 119 compounds find form these cultivars. There are a major different volatiles and their structure from infested fruits. HS-SPME released complex volatiles including (butanoic acid-3 methyl-, methy ester, methyl isovalerate, Butanoic acid-3 methyl-, isobutyl acetate, ethanone,2,2-dihydroxy-phenyl ) from First blush and Styrene, and 6-Methyl 1-2,3-dihydro-1,4-oxathine, methyl isovalerate, butanoic acid-3 methyl-, methy ester, ethyl isobutenoate from Brigitta cultivar.

Long‐term automatic trap data reveal factors affecting diurnal flight patterns of the Mediterranean Fruit fly

AbstractMediterranean Fruit Fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is considered to be one of the most destructive fruit insect pests throughout the world. In recent years, the temporal dynamics of the medfly have been extensively studied by season, and, to a lesser extent, on a daily basis. We exploited, for the first time, a sequential automatic medfly male trapping system, in combination with climate data, to characterize diel flight patterns of male medflies trapped. The process was carried out in four commercial citrus fields over three growing seasons. Results showed that throughout the year, medfly flight activity began 4–6 hr after sunrise and peaked up to 2 to 3 hr before sunset. Generalized additive models (GAM) of the 934 days sampled revealed that in the fall, the diurnal flight activity was unimodal, that is, it began increasing at noon, peaking in the afternoon. By contrast, in the spring and summer, the diurnal flight activity exhibited a bimodal pattern, decreasing at midday. GAMs also revealed that hour after sunrise and temperature influenced medfly captures, with the former the more dominant factor. Thus, photophase significantly impacted the medfly's diurnal flight activity in each season. This study demonstrated that automatic traps that timestamp each capture are a primary research tool in insect flight activity studies that contributes to understanding diurnal insect activity within the growing season.

Phenotypic Structure of Colombian Populations ofAnastrepha fraterculusComplex (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the principal quarantine pests in Colombian fruit production. Studies have shown that the nominal species is a complex of cryptic species and that the more common biological entity that exists in Colombia, the “Andean morphotype,” is a species, different from others on the continent. The bioecological information available for this morphotype is scarce, yet it is essential for establishing integrated pest management programs and for defining the insect's quarantine status. Knowledge of the pest's population structure, whether biological, genetic or morphological, is a valuable tool in making management decisions. The goal of this study was to gain information on the phenotypic structure of the Colombian populations of this species complex through the morphometric study of the eggs, larvae, and adults. Populations of A. fraterculus s.l. from 2 fruit species widely known as hosts for this insect (coffee, Coffea arabica L. [Rubiaceae], at medium altitudes; feijoa, Acca sellowiana (O. Berg) [Myrtaceae]) at high altitudes) were collected at 9 Colombian localities from the south of the country (Narino) to the northeast (Santander). Adults were obtained from the collected fruits, which were then used to rear insects in feijoa fruits. Significant variables were selected using a discriminant analysis, and the differences between the populations were analyzed using a multivariate analysis of variance. The variability of each significant variable was studied with a Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric analysis. The morphological variables studied were 21 for adult females, 7 for adult males, 24 for third-instar larvae, and 2 for the eggs. Intraspecific variability was found in the Colombian populations of the A. fraterculus Andean morphotype. In populations from higher altitudes, the adults and larvae are larger, whereas the eggs are smaller, compared to populations from lower altitudes. Variability might have a genetic component and be due to the limited movement of the individuals, which may favor the application of management activities in selected areas.

Europe clears Dow-DuPont merger

The European Commission (EC), the governing body of the European Union, has given the green light for the $130 billion merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont to proceed. But the approval is contingent on major divestitures from DuPont’s pesticide business to preserve competition in the market. DuPont will be required to sell its nine-herbicide portfolio of products used on cereals, rapeseed, sunflowers, rice, and pasture grass. And it will have to find a buyer for its insecticides that target chewing and sucking insects in fruits and vegetables, including its recent blockbusters Rynaxypyr and Cyazypyr. The sales will include manufacturing facilities and employees. DuPont will also have to off-load almost all of its global R&D operations for pesticides, aside from those supporting businesses it is allowed to keep. The EC says it found evidence that combining R&D would have given the new company an incentive to discontinue some costly efforts to

Conotelussp. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), a New Insect Pest of Passion Fruit in the Amazon Biome

Summary Conotelus sp. (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) is documented in passion fruit plantations in the state of Rondonia, Brazil, where producers have reported losses of approximately 80%. Damage is higher than that caused by traditional passion fruit insect pests, and there are no effective control methods. Flowering phenology is a key factor in insect attraction and recurrence. The beetles attack flowers, and a larval preference for pollen was shown. This insect can complete its life cycle in flowers on the ground. Damage characteristics, the distribution of the insect, changes in population size, and possible causes of outbreaks are reported.

Interaction of two avocado fruit insect borers in the same agroecological area in Mexico

Interaction of two avocado fruit insect borers in the same agroecological area in Mexico

Research on Image Retrieval of Fruit Tree Plant-Diseases and Pests Based on Nprod

Based on the normalized product correlation image matching algorithm, this paper uses wavelet transform for image pre-processing and conducts a content-based image retrieval applied research based on blue apple flea beetle. The experiment proves that this method can not only greatly shorten the matching time, but also improve the identification of Nprod coefficient. It makes image matching more accurate, and provides a new train of thoughts for the image retrieval of fruit tree diseases and insect pests based on content.

Tree growth and fruit production of various organic Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) cultivars grown under a rain-shelter system

SUMMARYA study was conducted to compare the effects of an open-field or rain-shelter system on the physiological responses of four Asian pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai) cultivars (‘Hanareum’, ‘Wonhwang’, ‘Manpungbae’, and ‘Niitaka’) in an organic orchard in 2013 and in 2014. The rain shelter was covered with polyethylene film between 31 March–4 July each season, then uncovered during the remainder of each growing season. The incidences of fruit disease and insect pests, and fruit quality were measured in 2013. The rain-shelter system increased leaf chlorophyll contents to a SPAD value of 44.0 and rates of CO2 assimilation to 17.0 μmol m−2 s−1 in all four cultivars. It also increased leaf total nitrogen concentrations and dry weights in ‘Wonhwang’ and ‘Niitaka’ trees compared to the open field. Freezing temperatures were observed in the open field during flowering. The rain-shelter system resulted in a 10.3% delay in completion of current year shoot extension in all cultivars on 7 August 2014. It also significantly increased fruit yields (22,900 kg ha−1), mean fruit fresh weights (582 g), fruit size (94 mm in length and 105 mm in diameter), and total soluble solids contents (12.7°Brix) in 2013 and 2014. The incidence of scab on fruit was reduced by 3.3% in the rain-shelter system in 2013, but scab and rust on leaves and fruit were not completely prevented by this system in September 2014. The incidence of green chafers on leaves was significantly reduced from 23.3% to 51.0% by the rain-shelter system on 15 July 2014. The average income from fruit production in both seasons increased by approx. 138%, 167%, 326%, and 215% for rain-sheltered ‘Hanareum’, ‘Wonhwang’, ‘Manpungbae’, and ‘Niitaka’ trees, respectively, compared to open-field production.

An analysis of ash and isotopic carbon discrimination (Δ13C) methods to evaluate water use efficiency in apple

Apple cultivars are selected for fruit quality, disease and insect resistance, not water use efficiency (WUE), however, the need for more water use efficient crops is accelerating due to climate change and increased competition for water resources. WUE be calculated from short-term gas exchange measurements of photosynthesis (A) and transpiration (Ec) and expressed as A/Ec (instantaneous water use efficiency; WUEInst), or on a whole plant basis, measuring leaf, fruit and wood dry matter (DM) together with a measurement of water use (WU), and expressed as DM/WU. Plant ash and carbon isotope discrimination (Δ13C) have been correlated with water use efficiency in herbaceous plants. The purpose of this study was to measure WUEInst and seasonal WUE of mature and productive apple trees in the field and evaluate WUE correlations with ash and Δ13C. WUEInst was measured in whole tree gas exchange studies and from seasonal dry matter yield studies in ‘Empire’ apple for 2005, 2007 and 2009. Leaf ash and Δ13C were positively correlated with mean tree photosynthetic rate (A) and transpiration (Ec) but only leaf Δ13C was negatively correlated with WUEInst. In seasonal dry matter yield studies, leaf ash and Δ13C responses were highly negatively correlated with WUE based on the annual fruit yield/seasonal potential transpiration (Ef), termed WUEFrt. There were also highly significant correlations between leaf and shoot ash with leaf and shoot Δ13C. Both leaf ash and Δ13C were useful in identifying extremes in apple WUE and leaf ash can be used at a much lower cost with a high through-put potential.

Factors influencing the fruit crops and seed fates ofPistacia chinensis: the results of structural equation modeling

Seed production and quality are important factors influencing population regeneration in many seed plants. We used structural equation modeling to investigate how plant and fruit traits interact with each other to influence the fruit crops and seed fates of Pistacia chinensis. From May to September 2009, we sampled 45 fruiting female trees and measured plant traits (height, DBH and crown area), fruit traits (infructescence size, fruit size) and the fruit crop of each sampled tree in Jiyuan City of Henan Province, Central China. The fruit crops of P. chinensis were positively correlated with tree height, crown area and infructescence size but not significantly correlated with DBH or fruit size. The fruit crop of an individual tree had no negative direct effect on the infestation of seeds by wasps (Eurytoma plotnikovi). Such a direct effect would be predicted by the predator satiation hypothesis. Tree height and fruit size had a positive direct effect on the seed predation rate, but a significant negative correlation was found between the seed predation rate and the rate of seedlessness. Our results indicate that seedless fruits may serve as a defensive mechanism against insect seed predators. In addition, both seedless and insect-infested fruits had a negative direct effect on seed survival, and DBH, infructescence size and fruit crop had a positive indirect effect on seed survival. However, tree height and fruit size had negative indirect effects on seed survival. In conclusion, we have shown 第 2期 郭洪岭等: 应用结构方程模型解析影响黄连木果实产量和种子命运的因素 175 that both plant and fruit traits can strongly influence fruit crops and insect seed predation and subsequently determine the seed quality and population regeneration of P. chinensis.

QuEChERS 전처리와 LC-MS/MS를 이용한 고추 중 침투성농약 Imidacloprid 및 대사물질 동시분석법

Imidacloprid is a systemic insecticide which act as an insect neurotoxin. It used for control of pest such as aphids and other sucking insects in fruits and vegetables. Systemic pesticides move inside a crop following absorption by the plant, and these were converted into a variety of metabolites. Sometimes these metabolites make a problem about safety of agricultural products. So a simultaneous determination method of pesticide and its metabolites is needed, to monitor their presence in agricultural product and study on the fate of pesticide in a plant. This study's aim is to investigate simultaneous analysis method of imidacloprid and its metabolites, imidacloprid guanidine, imidacloprid olefin, imidacloprid urea, and 6-chloronicotinic acid in red pepper using QuEChERS method and LC-MS/MS systems. QuEChERS method was modifed beacuase MgSO salts decreased the recoveries of 6-chloronicotinic acid in extraction procedure. Imidacloprid and its metabolites were extracted by acetonitrile with 1% glacial acetic acid and the extracts were purified through QuEChERS with primary secondary amine (PSA) and C and analyzed with LC-MS/MS in ESI positive mode. Standard calibration curves were made by matrix matched standards and their correlation coefficients were higher than 0.999. Recovery studies were carried out on spiked pepper blank sample at four concentration levels (0.01, 0.04 and 0.1, 0.4 mg/kg). The average recoveries of imidacloprid and its metabolites were in the range of 70~120% with < 20% RSD. This result indicated that the method using QuEChERS and LC-MS/MS was suitable for the simultaneous determination of imidacloprid and its metabolites in red pepper.

Effect of the moisture content of forced hot air on the postharvest quality and bioactive compounds of mango fruit (Mangifera indica L. cv. Manila)

The effectiveness of hot air treatments in controlling decay and insects in mango fruit has been demonstrated and has usually been assessed as a function of the temperature of the heated air and the duration of the treatment. However, the contribution of the moisture content of the heated air has received little attention, especially with regard to fruit quality. In this study, mango fruits (cv. Manila) at mature-green stage were treated with moist (95% relative humidity (RH)) or dry (50% RH) hot forced air (43 °C, at 2.5 m s(-1) for 220 min) and then held at 20 °C for 9 days and evaluated periodically. The heating rate was higher with moist air. Treatments with moist and dry air did not cause injury to the fruit. Treatment with moist air temporarily slowed down color development, softening, weight loss and β-carotene biosynthesis. This slowing down was clearly observed during the first 4-5 days at 20 °C. However, non-heated fruit and fruit heated with dry air showed similar quality at the end of storage. The moisture content of the heating air differentially modulated the postharvest ripening of 'Manila' mangoes. Moist air temporarily slowed down the ripening process of this mango cultivar.

Modeling heat transfer for disinfestation and control of insects (larvae and eggs) in date fruits

A space-and-time dependent model describing the impact of heat transfer on insect survival rate was developed for analyzing the heat disinfestation process of dates. A 2D axial-symmetric domain was defined with five sub-domains: the bulk date pulp, a thin air layer and the date pit, a larva (located in the air layer) and eggs (on the date surface). The model included convective heating and microwave heating (915MHz). Dielectric properties of the date pulp, egg and larvae were measured. The model predictions showed good agreement with experimental results in the case of the “biological model” (Ephestia kuehniella Zeller) in dates subjected to hot air treatment (70°C). Sensitive analysis showed that the date size and water content greatly affected the heating time process, during hot air and microwave treatments. Moreover, regarding the eggs’ specific surface, it is advisable to combine convective hot air with microwave heating to induce egg mortality on the date surface.