Sunn Pest Research Articles

Improvement of the Quality by the Cold Plasma on the Sunn Pest (Eurygaster Integriceps)-Damaged Wheat Flour

This study aimed to improve the quality of wheat flour affected by sunn bugs (Eurygaster integriceps) by examining the effects of cold plasma on its physicochemical and dough rheological properties. The sun-damaged wheat flour was treated with Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge using atmospheric air cold plasma at different application times. The results demonstrated that sedimentation volumes increased with longer plasma treatment times and maximized in 60 seconds of treatment without causing any sunn pest damage. The alveograph tenacity (P) increased with plasma application, and as a result, the energy (W) reached approximately three times that of the application of 60 s. The values obtained for W and gluten balance (P/L) indicated that the dough's qualities were now appropriate for resulting in bread. Significance of the study • Atmospheric air cold plasma was applied to sunn pest-damaged wheat flour to improve the technological quality at three application times • Sedimentation volumes increased a level that did not cause any sunn pest-damage in 60 s of treatment • Plasma application increased the alveograph tenacity (P) • The alveograph energy (W) value reached aproximately three times in the application of 60 s. • The alveograph W and gluten balance (P/L) values of the dough became suitable for bread-making

Chemical control of wheat sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps, by UAV sprayer and very low volume knapsack sprayer

Chemical control of wheat sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps, by UAV sprayer and very low volume knapsack sprayer

A study to clarify whether sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps) increases amylase activity in wheat

There is uncertainty as to whether amylase is injected into wheat kernels by the sunn pest (SP). There are conflicting results in the literature as to whether the amylolytic activity (AA) of insect-damaged wheat is increased. Therefore, the research question of this study is whether amylase is injected into wheat kernels by SP. Two bread wheat cultivars with different levels of SP-damage were used (first year Golia 2.35 % SP damaged kernel ratio [SPDR], second year Golia 3.92 % SPDR and Sagittario 7.8 % SPDR). Sound and SP-damaged wheat (SPDW) kernels were manually separated. In addition, SPDW kernels were divided into four categories according to their infection rates. The AA of these different wheats was determined by using AACC methods 22-05.01 and 56–81.04. In cultivar Golia, the α-amylase activity of the most damaged wheat (C4/4 WGWF) was 9.5 times higher than that of the undamaged wheat. The SP-damaged samples had a lower Falling Number (FN), i.e. higher AA, than the undamaged samples in both cultivars. The FN values of the flour samples prepared from the 100 % SPDW were reduced by up to 40 % compared to the undamaged samples. In conclusion, we clearly found increased amylase activity in SPDW. As the proportion of insect-damaged kernels in the wheat mass increased, the AA of the wheat and its flour also increased, as did the proteolytic activity. Because the AA in some wheats is insufficient for bread-making, SPDW can be blended to sound wheat varieties within certain limits to reduce or reset the use of amylase base additives and reduce bread costs.

Interspecific competition and comparative cold tolerance in two egg parasitoids of sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps

Interspecific competition and comparative cold tolerance in two egg parasitoids of sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps

Outbreak conditions of Sunn pest, Eurygaster maura L., 1758 (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae): Model of Central Anatolia (Türkiye)

In this study, outbreak conditions of Sunn pest, Eurygaster maura L., 1758 (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae), the main agricultural pest of wheat, Triticum aestivum L., 1753 (Poaceae: Poales) which is the most important crop of the Central Anatolia (Türkiye) in terms of cultivation area and production was investigated. For this purpose, population density of adult sunn pests in its overwintering site and wheat cultivation area were evaluated for Central Anatolian provinces for the years between 1988 and 2021. It is observed that population density of sunn pest reached the level that requires control in 1988 for the first time. After, there were three infestation periods up to 2021 and each of them lasted for 4 years. First of them occurred between 1993 and 1996. It is observed that when average density of overwintered adult sunn pests exceeds 30 per square meter, there can be infestation in all overwintering sites of Central Anatolia. Also, there is a correlation between this density and the intensity of the infestation. Throughout the infestation periods, average temperature was determined as 20 ºC during the reproduction and development period, and it was recorded over 19 ºC during the season when temperature changes and relocations were high in overwintering site.

Study of pesticidal activity of bioactive compounds of Neowestiellopsis persica strain A1387 in improving the antioxidative and antimicrobial activity of wheat to sunn pest

Cyanobacteria have been recognized for their advantageous impact on plant growth and development. The application of certain techniques has the potential to enhance various aspects of plant development, including growth, yield, proximate content (such as protein and carbohydrate levels), as well as the ability to withstand abiotic stresses such as herbicide exposure. The current investigation focused on examining the influence of bioactive compounds derived from the cyanobacterium Neowestiellopsis persica strain A1387 on enhancing the antioxidant and anyimicrobial activity of wheat plants in their defense against the plant pathogenic Sunn pest. The findings of the study indicate that the levels of H2O2 and GPx in wheat plants that were infected with aphids were significantly elevated compared to the treatments where aphids and cyanobacteria extract were present. The confirmation of these results was achieved through the utilization of confocal and fluorescent microscope tests, respectively. Furthermore, the findings indicated that the constituents of the cyanobacterial extract augmented the plant's capacity to withstand stress by enhancing its defense mechanisms. In a broader context, the utilization of cyanobacterial extract demonstrated the ability to regulate the generation and impact of oxygen (O2) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), while concurrently enhancing the functionality of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) enzymes within wheat plants. This facilitation enabled the plants to effectively manage oxidative stress. Moreover, the findings of the antibacterial activity assessment conducted on the extract derived from cyanobacteria demonstrated notable susceptibility. The bacteria that exhibited the highest sensitivity to the extract of cyanobacterium Neowestiellopsis persica strain A1387 were staphylococcus aureus and pseudomonas aeruginosa. Conversely, salmonella typhi demonstrated the greatest resistance to the aforementioned extract. The potential impact of cyanobacteria extract on the antioxidative response of wheat plants to sunn pest infestation represents a novel contribution to the existing body of knowledge on the interaction between wheat plants and aphids.

Facile fabrication and characterization of silver nanoparticles by sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps puton) damaged wheat and evaluation of its antibacterial and cellular toxicity toward liver cancer cell lines

Facile fabrication and characterization of silver nanoparticles by sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps puton) damaged wheat and evaluation of its antibacterial and cellular toxicity toward liver cancer cell lines

Transcriptome wide identification of neuropeptides and G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) in Sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton

Sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps Puton) is major wheat pest causing economic damage. Neuropeptides and their receptors, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), are involved in the regulation of insect physiology and behavior. Herein, a transcriptome-wide analysis was conducted in order to identify genes encoding neuropeptides, and putative GPCRs to gain insight into neuropeptide-modulated processes. De novo transcriptome assembly was undertaken using paired-end sequence reads derived from RNA samples collected from whole adults and yielded 582,398 contigs. In total, 46 neuropeptides have been identified, encompassing various known insect neuropeptide families. In addition, we discovered four previously uncharacterized neuroparsin peptides, which contributes to our understanding of the neuropeptide landscape. Furthermore, 85 putative neuropeptide GPCRs were identified, comprising three classes of GPCRs, A, B, C, and LGR, of which class C is not widely reported in insects. In addition, the identified GPCRs exhibited a remarkable 80% homology with the GPCRs found in the brown marmorated stink bug. It is noteworthy that these GPCRs displayed only a 20% homology to GPCRs from many other insect species. This information may be used to understand the neuropeptide-modulated physiology and behavior of Eurygaster integriceps, and to develop specific neuropeptide-based pest management strategies.

Susceptibility of Sunn pest in overwintered adults and new generation to eight insecticide groups of IRAC

Susceptibility of Sunn pest in overwintered adults and new generation to eight insecticide groups of IRAC

In vitro Gluten Degradation Using Recombinant Eurygaster Integriceps Prolyl Endoprotease: Implications for Celiac Disease.

Celiac disease (CD) is a gluten-sensitive chronic autoimmune enteropathy. A strict life-long gluten-free diet is the only efficient and accepted treatment until now. However, maintaining a truly gluten-free status is both difficult and costly, often resulting in a social burden for the person. Moreover, 2 to 5 percent of patients fail to improve clinically and histologically upon elimination of dietary gluten. Therefore, novel therapeutic approaches, including gluten degrading enzymes, are an unmet need of celiac patients. To evaluate the function of sunn pest prolyl endoprotease for gluten and gliadin hydrolysis in vitro. The spPEP was expressed as a recombinant protein in E. coli BL21 (DE3), and its catalytic activity was assessed by SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC analyses. Production of a 100-kDa spPEP protein was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and western blot analysis. Also, we demonstrate that spPEP efficiently degrades gluten and α-gliadin (30-40 kDa) in vitro under conditions similar to the GI and is resistant to pepsin and trypsin. The gathered data demonstrated that spPEP might be a novel candidate for Oral Enzymatic Therapy (OET) in CD and other gluten-related disorders.

Siirt İli Buğday Ekiliş Alanlarında Zararlı Eurygaster integriceps Puton (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae)’in Dağılımı İle Zararlı ve Faydalı Böcek Türlerinin Belirlenmesi

Wheat is nowadays the most important source of food on earth. Many pest species have been identified that affecting the wheat yield and quality negatively. This study was carried out to identify harmful and beneficial insect (predator) species and of distribution of Sunn pest in wheat cultivation areas in the districts (Siirt province Merkez, Kurtalan, Eruh, Tillo, Şirvan, Pervari and Baykan) of Siirt Province, Turkey in 2018 and 2019. Samplings were taken periodically 1-2 week from April to July. The sweep nets, frame, pitfall trap and visual control methods were used for sampling. At the end of the study, 31 species belonging to 5 orders and 18 families were determined. The distributions of the species were recorded as 16 species belonging to 7 families in Coleoptera, 10 species belonging to 7 families in Hemiptera, and 1 species belonging to each family in Hymenoptera, Orthoptera, Neuroptera and Diptera. The most common and abundant species: The main pest Eurygaster integriceps Puton, 1881, the secondary pests Aelia acuminata (Linnaeus, 1758), Dolycoris baccarum (Linnaeus, 1758) from Hemiptera, Cephus pygmaeus (Linnaeus, 1767) from Hymenoptera Gryllus bimaculatus De Geer, 1773, from Orthoptera were determined. Carpocoris pudicus (Poda, 1761) and Carpocoris fuscispinus (Boheman, 1850) species are the first records for the fauna of Siirt province. Furthermore, Clanoptilus geniculatus (Germar, 1823) and Haplomalachius flabellatus (Frivaldzsky, 1835), Coleoptera (Malachiidae) Libelloides macaronius (Scopoli, 1763) Neuroptera (Ascalaphidae) species are the first records for Siirt province. The highest average density of Eurygaster integriceps (2 adult+nymph / m2) was found in the Garzan and Gozpinari locations of Kurtalan district. Besides, among the beneficial species, general predators Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens, 1836) and Coccinella septempunctata (Linnaeus, 1758) are remark as the most common and abundant species.

Identification of Sunn-pest affected (Eurygaster Integriceps put.) wheat plants and their distribution in wheat fields using aerial imaging

Sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps put.) causes severe damage to wheat fields annually, reducing production by up to 50%. Rapid identification of pest concentration points and estimation of infestation levels in fields can be useful for production management and reducing the use of chemical sprays. Because of the limited ability to detect pests on the ground and access to high-resolution satellite imagery, aerial photography was considered for crop pest and disease detection. In this study, the feasibility of soft computing approaches and image processing to identify areas infected with sunn pest using near-infrared and visible light aerial imagery was investigated. An irrigated winter wheat field was surveyed for five consecutive months, from February to June. The spectral vegetation features (SVI), were extracted and analysed for both near infrared and visible light images. To detect infected spikes, Support Vector Machine (SVM) with Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel was used. The Red and near-infrared (NIR) bands reflectance and, the Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI) for near-infrared images as well as Red and Green bands reflectance and normalised green blue difference index (NGBDI) for visible light images had the greatest impact on the performance of the SVM classifiers. The SVM classifiers were validated using the confusion matrix method. The best accuracy and performance of the detection system was achieved in February and March when the healthy wheat plant was still green. The mean accuracy for these two months was 0.97 and 0.93 for the SVM classifiers for NIR and visible light, respectively.

The response of the egg parasitoid, Trissolcus semistriatus (Nees) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) to metathoracic scent gland extract from Eurygaster maura (L.) (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae)

ABSTRACT This study was conducted in 2013–2014 in order to determine the response of the egg parasitoid, Trissolcus semistriatus (Nees) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) to metathoracic scent gland (MSG) extract from Eurygaster maura (L.) (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae) in laboratory conditions. For this purpose, the MSG extracts obtained separately from males and females were diluted with hexane and six different concentrations were prepared. Naïve, mated parasitoids (2-3 days old) were used in the experiments. Hexane and distilled water were used as control treatments. In a Y-tube olfactometer, low concentrations of MSG extract from both sexes attracted the T. semistriatus but the preference for MSG extract was reduced with the increase in extract concentration and parasitoids oriented towards clean air. In order to determine the effect of MSG extract of E. maura on parasitisation and emergence rates of T. semistriatus, a single parasitoid was presented with two egg masses on blotting paper treated with MSG extract and two on blotting paper treated with hexane 4 cm apart in a Petri dish. The parasitoid was allowed 24 h for parasitisation. Parasitisation rates were higher than control at low concentrations of MSG extract of both sexes. There was no effect of MSG extracts on the emergence rates of parasitoids from eggs. According to the present results, the performance of the egg parasitoid, T. semistriatus in the control of the sunn pest, E. maura, can be enhanced by MSG extracts of the pest.

Effect of Overwintering Time on Survival Adults of Eurygaster testudinaria Geoffroy in Iraq

A field study was conducted to determine the effect of overwintering time on the survival adult of Eurygaster testudinaria Geoffroy in Kufa/Najaf Governorate during the season 2019-2020. The results showed there is a difference in the survival rate of females and males according to the time of laying sunn pest in the overwintering site. The results showed the lowest survival rate for adults was in the first and second treatment of placing insects in overwintering site, and the maximum survival period for adults was three months. while the highest survival rate for females and males was 100 and 98% on the fourth treatment after a month of placing insects in overwintering site respectively, then this percentage gradually decreased until reached 77 and 66% at the end of January, respectively. The results also showed that the weight of sunn pest adults differed according to the date of entry the insect into overwintering site. The highest percentage of weight loss for females and males was 2.3,3.94% and 2.26,2.08% in the first and second treatment in May after a month from Putting insects in overwintering site respectively. The lowest percentage of weight loss was0.2 and 0.21% on the fourth treatment after a month of treatment, then this percentage gradually increased reached 3.22% at the end of January for females and 4.36% in December for males.

Mycosynthesis of Silver Nanoparticles and Evaluation as Insecticidal Against the Sunn Pest Eurygaster testudinaria in Vitro

Fungi are used to synthesize metal nanoparticles such as silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) because of their specifications as lower toxicity and eco-friendly behavior. Extracellular mycosynthesis of Lecanicillium lecanii silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was performed, which was done by a redox reaction, where the filtrate crude of L. lecanii acts as a reducing and stabilizing agent for the formation of nanoparticles. The green synthesized AgNPs were evaluated as insecticidal against the adults of sunn pest Eurygaster testudinaria. The AgNPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FITR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). The UV–Vis spectroscopy showed a characteristic absorption peak at 418.5 nm due to surface plasma resonance. FESEM analysis showed that synthesized AgNPs were semi-spherical with an average size of 39.45 nm. The AgNPs showed strong activity in mortality of adults of E. testudinaria under conditions during different periods of time to recorded 100% at concentration 100 ppm compared with 0.00% in control treatment after 10 days from treatment.

The Relationship Between the Presence of Sunn Pest Eurygaster testudinaria Geoffroy and Its Egg Parasitoids in Najaf Province

A field study was carried out to find presence egg parasitoids on egg masses of sunn pest Eurygaster testudinaria Geoffroy and effect of some climatic conditions such as temperature and relative humidity in Kufa/Najaf province during 2017-2020 seasons. the results showed difference in the prevalence of parasitoids according to the species of parasitoids. The parasitoid O. telenomicida is the most common egg parasitoid in region of study and percentage parasitism ranged 6.06 -18.80% in March and 32.24-55.04% in April for all season. The results also showed that egg parasitoids activity begin in the early spring. The time of presence of parasitoid in the field has varied from year to year depending on the presence of Sunn pest and prevailing weather conditions of temperatures and relative humidity.

Influence of irrigation on the Sunn pest Eurygaster integriceps Put. (Insecta: Heteroptera) in the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine

The aim of the research is to establish the influence of watering on the phenological and biological features of winter wheat pests development, in particular Sunn pests. Trials were conducted on winter wheat crops under sprinkler irrigation in 2015-2020 in conditions of the Central Forest-Steppe of Ukraine. The size of the experimental plots in the field experiments was 50 m2 (10.4x4.8 m) at the 4 times replication. The allocation of plots was randomized. The average numbers of Sunn pest nymphs in 2015-2020 were 0.7-2.7 exemplars/m² on non-irrigated winter wheat crops and 0.8-3.8 exemplars/m² on irrigated. The share of the factor “presence of irrigation” that impacts on the number of Sunn pests reaches 80.2%. The sums of degree-days necessary for the beginning of different development stages of this phytophagous were calculated. The stage of the revival of Sunn pest nymphs began in mid-May – the first decade of June, which coincided with the phases of development of winter wheat: the end of flowering – soft dough ripening of the grain. The sum of degree-days required for the beginning of this stage was 177.8-233.8°C without irrigation, while in sprinkler irrigation conditions – 275.5-349.1°C. For the beginning of the transformation of the fifth instar nymphs into adults, the required sum of degree-days was 410.5-481.5°C on the non-irrigated crops and 545.7-630.4°C – under conditions of irrigation. Clarifying the sum of degree-days required for different stages of Sunn pest development will allow for predicting the terms of protective measures against this pest in the field conditions under irrigation.

Comparison of transglutaminase and l‐ascorbic acid additives in improving the quality of bread made from sunn pest (Eurygaster integriceps) damaged wheat

SummarySunn pest (SP) is one of the most detrimental wheat bugs in Asia and Europe. Flour milled from SP damaged wheats (SPDW) exhibits weak dough characteristics and unsatisfactory baking quality due to its high protease content. l‐ascorbic acid (l‐AA) and transglutaminase (TG) are the two different bread additives that lead to protein polymerisation via different mechanisms. This study aimed to compare the independent and combined effects of TG and l‐AA additives in improving quality of bread made from SPDW. Compared to l‐AA, TG is an additive that is much more effective for strengthening the dough. The positive effect of l‐AA was more clearly found in flours with low‐level of SPDW (LLSPDW). Bread structure and properties of LLSPDW could be restored by addition of suitable‐levels of l‐AA (75–100 mg/kg) and/or low‐level of TG (0.3%). High‐level of SPDW (HLSPDW) could be restored only by addition of suitable level of TG (≥1%). In bread‐making with HLSPDW flours, TG can be successfully used to maintain dough stability and bread attributes, however, the positive effect of l‐AA remained at very limited levels and cannot compare with the contribution of TG. The results of this study can be utilised to improve the quality of breads made with SPDW flours.

Effect of Temperature on Efficacy of the Entomopathogenic Fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizum anisopliae Against the Sunn Pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton

El-Mukhlef, A.A., Sh.A. Kharouf and A. Al-Khalaf. 2023. Effect of Temperature on Efficacy of the Entomopathogenic Fungi Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizum anisopliae Against the Sunn Pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton. Arab Journal of Plant Protection, 41(2): 134-139. https://doi.org/10.22268/AJPP-41.2.134139 An experiment was conducted in the plant protection laboratory of the Directorate of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform in Raqqa Province during 2013, to assess the effect of temperature and four spores suspension concentrations (1.5×102 , 103 , 104 and 105 spores/insect) on the efficacy of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizum anisopliae against the Sunn pest (Eurygaster inegriceps Puton). Insect adults dorsal side were inoculated with 1.5×103 spores/insect of B. bassiana and caused insects mortality at a temperature range of 22-31°C, with optimum effect at 25°C, with a LT50 of 5.3 days after inoculation. In contrast, M. anisopliae had a wider temperature range up to 37°C, with optimal effect at 28- 31°C with LT50 of 5 days. No significant differences were observed between the fungal concentrations of 1.5×103 and 1.5×105 . Results obtained for using the four fungal spore suspension concentrations (1.5×102 , 1.5×103 , 1.5×104 , 1.5×105 spores/insect) under optimum conditions for each fungus indicated that the LT50 was close among concentrations, whereas, there was significant difference between the fungal two concentrations 1.5×102 and 1.5×104 , and B. bassiana was most effective at 1.5×104 spores/insect, in contrast to M. anisopliae which was most effective at 1.5×102 spores/insect. Keywords: Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizum anisopliae, Eurygaster inegriceps, Sunn Pest, biological control.

Effects of endophytism by Beauveria bassiana (Cordycipitaceae) on plant growth, Fusarium (Nectriaceae) disease, and Sunn pest Eurygaster integriceps (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae) in wheat (Poaceae)

Abstract Fungi living within a plant (i.e., endophytic fungi) can directly affect the growth of the host plant or have indirect effects by affecting levels of damage to the plant caused by insect herbivory or plant pathogens. Greenhouse and field trials were conducted to investigate the endophytic effects of the fungus Beauveria bassiana on wheat, on the wheat-feeding Sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae), and on the wheat pathogen, Fusarium culmorum (Nectriaceae), which causes root and crown rot disease. Conidia of B. bassiana were applied to wheat either by foliar spray, soil drench, or seed treatment. Seed treatment with conidia provided the highest re-isolation percentages: 91.7% in leaves, 95.8% in stems, and 91.7% in roots. Inoculated plants were taller and had greater wet and dry weights compared to control plants. In both greenhouse and field studies, E. integriceps that were fed inoculated plants laid eggs that were less likely to hatch. Inoculations reduced the incidence of root and crown rot disease by 42% under greenhouse conditions. These results document the potential of using endophytic infections of B. bassiana in wheat as a control measure for Sunn pest and root and crown rot disease.