Microwave Based Weed Control and Soil Treatment

The Yearbook mirrors the annual activities of staff and visiting fellows of the Maimonides Centre and reports on symposia, workshops, and lectures taking place at the Centre. Although aimed at a wider audience, the yearbook also contains academic articles and book reviews on scepticism in Judaism and scepticism in general. Staff, visiting fellows, and other international scholars are invited to contribut

Microwave Based Weed Control and Soil Treatment

The Yearbook mirrors the annual activities of staff and visiting fellows of the Maimonides Centre and reports on symposia, workshops, and lectures taking place at the Centre. Although aimed at a wider audience, the yearbook also contains academic articles and book reviews on scepticism in Judaism and scepticism in general. Staff, visiting fellows, and other international scholars are invited to contribut

Studies of non-chemical strategies for postharvest management of Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata)

The Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Medfly), is a highly polyphagous insect species with a host range of over 400 plant species. It is one of the most destructive horticultural insect pests which has resulted in huge pre and postharvest losses, costing billions of dollars every year for pest management. Quarantine and phytosanitary treatments are essential to ensure no live Medfly in imported and exported fruit, vegetable and hay. However, it is increasingly difficult to be clarified due to the ban of key pesticides, methyl bromide, an ozone-depleting substance, and chemical residues related food and consumer safety issues. Therefore, the non-chemical strategies, including the controlled atmosphere (CA), heat and low temperature and irradiation treatments have been applied for eradication of fruit flies in postharvest fruits. However, the response of Medfly to low-temperature and low-oxygen has not been extensively studied in the lab diet and blueberries. My Ph.D. research has systematically evaluated low-temperature and low-oxygen treatments of Medfly on a lab diet and two blueberry cultivars. The results demonstrated that in the lab diet, both the 1st and 3rd larval instars were the most cold-tolerant stages. In blueberries, the 3rd larval instar was the most cold-tolerant stage. In the low-oxygen/high-nitrogen treatment, the 3rd larval instar was the most tolerant stage at 25°C. No significant differences in sex ratios of survived Medfly were observed between treated and non-treated Medfly populations after both low-temperature and low-oxygen treatments. This study improved our understanding of Medfly responses to low-temperature and low-oxygen treatments. The results and knowledge will help refine current fruit fly postharvest management and develop more efficient and environmentally friendly control approaches, which will contribute to the integrated postharvest pest management strategies for Medfly

Solar Power

A wide variety of detail regarding genuine and proprietary research from distinguished authors is presented, ranging from new means of evaluation of the local solar irradiance to the manufacturing technology of photovoltaic cells. Also included is the topic of biotechnology based on solar energy and electricity generation onboard space vehicles in an optimised manner with possible transfer to the Earth. The graphical material supports the presentation, transforming the reading into a pleasant and instructive labor for any interested specialist or student

Understanding Trichoderma bio-inoculants in the root ecosystem of Pinus radiata

Oral presentation on understanding Trichoderma bio-inoculants in the root ecosystem of Pinus radiat

The application of sterile insect technique against the tomato leafminer Liriomyza bryoniae

The tomato leafminer Liriomyza bryoniae (Kaltenbach) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) is an economically important pest of greenhouse tomato crops in the UK, which at high infestations can reduce the value of the crop by up to 20% . Sterile insect technique, SIT, is the release of sterile insects to overflood and mate with the pest population. Wild females that mate with sterile males lay eggs that contain dominant lethal mutations and are unable to develop into larvae. SIT has been proposed as a novel, alternative method of L.bryoniae pest suppression that could be used in conjunction with the current biological controls, such as Diglyphus isaea (Walker) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). This thesis presents information on the development of SIT against L.bryoniae and examines the feasibility and compatibility with existing pest management methods. Work was carried out that determined high quality, sterile adult L.bryoniae were produced when late stage pupae were irradiated with a dose of 160 Gy gamma radiation. Both male and female L.bryoniae were sterile after irradiation with 160 Gy, which is important given the current inability to separate pupae by sex. A multi-treatment cage experiment was used to compare bi-sex and male-only releases and showed that the release of sterile females did not have a detrimental effect and did not add to the pest problem. The multi-treatment cage experiment also compared the use of D.isaea with sterile male releases both separately and concurrently. Whilst the study conditions favoured the optimal environment for D.isaea oviposition and development, the concurrent release of sterile male L.bryoniae and D.isaea were compatible. SIT is a suitable method for L.bryoniae suppression; but further work to develop a more time and cost-efficient mass-rearing technique and greater knowledge of the market are required in order for it to become a financially viable pest management option. Overall, the irradiation of L.bryoniae pupae with 160 Gy produced sterile adults that have comparable fitness to wild-type adults, do not produce viable offspring and have the potential to suppress a L.bryoniae infestation