Cacopsylla pyri L. (Hom., Psyllidae) and its predators relationship in Italy's Emilia-Romagna region

Sampling techniques for Cacopsylla pyri adults and its predators (Anthocoris nemoralis, Coccinellidae spp. and Chrysopidae spp.) were comparatively studied over autumn-winter 2000 in three pear orchards of Ferrara Province in northern Italy's Emilia-Romagna Region. Bating tray (or frappage), yellow sticky traps and corrugated cardboard traps were employed for insect monitoring while water pan traps were used for the phenological timing of leaf fall. The beating tray provided a more representative sampling method to evaluate the population dynamics and density of C. pyri and its predators than the yellow sticky traps; the corrugated cardboard proved a reliable tool to assess the predator population dynamic in overwintering refuges. Along with climate (temperature) and plant physiological (leaf fall) data, the results reported provide useful information for the scheduling of winter treatments, also in case to control the spread of the mycoplasma-like organism (pear decline) in spring

Difesa dalla generazione svernante di Pandemis cerasana (Hb.) (Lepidoptera Tortricidae) su pero in Emilia-Romagna (II contributo)

Difesa dalla generazione svernante di Pandemis cerasana (Hb.) (Lepidoptera Tortricidae) su pero in Emilia-Romagna (II contributo

Mimic-Confirm (a. i. Tebufenozide): a tool for a soft and ecologically sound pest control in pear orchards

An investigation regarding the side-effects of two insecticide application strategies has been carried out. Two chemical control programmes for codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) and for the main leafroller species (Pandemis cerasana Hb.) have been compared. One programme (“soft”) based exclusively on tebufenozide applications and the other one (conventional) based on traditional insecticides use (the exclusively use of tebufenozide was chosen only for experimental requirement, without considering the resistance management). The study has been carried out in the Ferrara District (Italy) on a pear orchard (cv. Abbè Fétel and Bartlett) in the 1998-99-00 years. A randomised block design with four replicates was used to compare the two different chemical control programmes. For sampling visual and inventory methods (depending from the insect species and the developmental stage) were used. The main pest species sampled were C. pomonella L., P. cerasana Hb., Cacopsylla pyri L. and Quadraspidiotus perniciosus (Comst.), while Anthocoris nemoralis (F.), coccinellids and syrphids were the beneficial ones. The results showed the reliability of the control strategy based on tebufenozide (no difference with regard to damaged fruits in comparison with the traditional one). This strategy gave smaller side effects on the beneficials, mainly regarding A. nemoralis young larvae. It has been possible to measure the lower insecticide use: both in quantitative and qualitative terms (toxicological classes)

Evidence of a female-produced sex pheromone in the European pear psylla, Cacopsylla pyri

Cacopsylla pyri (L.) (Hemiptera Psyllidae) is one of the most important pests of pear orchards in Europe that reduces the market value of pears. Summerform C. pyri males significantly preferred odours from living females or female cuticular extracts in the absence of visual stimuli in a Y-tube olfactometer. Conversely, males as well as females did not show any preference for odours from specimen of the same sex. Electroantennogram recordings showed that female cuticular extracts elicit dose-dependent responses in male antennae suggesting the presence of volatile compounds capable to stimulate the male peripheral olfactory system. Gas-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry revealed marked quantitative differences between male and female cuticular extracts regarding 13-methylheptacosane, 11,13-dimethylheptacosane, 2-methylheptacosane, and 3-methylheptacosane. These compounds were found in larger amounts in female extracts which suggests their role in male attraction

A shoe-based interface for ecological ground augmentation

The prototype of a wearable shoe-based interface is presented, which provides the user with auditory cues of ground. Data supplied by sensors embedded in the shoes drive a set of physics-based synthesis models running on a laptop, whose audio output is sent to a pair of shoe-mounted loudspeakers. By informing the synthesis models with ecological properties of grounds, neutral floors can be interactively augmented so as to react like they were made of a different material

Prove sperimentali con idrolati per la difesa del ciliegio da Drosophila suzukii

Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) \ue8 comunemente nota con il nome \u201cmoscerino dei piccoli frutti\u201d (in inglese Spotted Wing Drosophila, SWD). \uc8 considerata un insetto molto infestante che causa gravi danni a livello economico soprattutto nel suo continente d\u2019origine, ovvero l\u2019Asia, ma, recentemente, anche in America ed in Europa. Per difendere le colture, in particolare il ciliegio, da questo fitofago si fa uso per lo pi\uf9 di insetticidi di sintesi, in particolare modo prima della raccolta (1) quando la femmina con il proprio ovipositore sclerificato inizia a deporre nel frutto le proprie uova. I parassitoidi, come Trichopria drosophilae (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae), possono coadiuvare nella lotta, ma non sono, di per s\ue9, sufficientemente efficaci (2). Le reti antinsetto sono efficienti ma molto costose. Visto che fra gli obiettivi dell\u2019agricoltura sostenibile vi \ue8 la riduzione degli insetticidi di sintesi al fine di salvaguardare l\u2019ambiente e la sicurezza alimentare dei consumatori, questo lavoro pone l\u2019attenzione sull\u2019utilizzo verso D. suzukii dell\u2019idrolato di Monarda didyma, una pianta erbacea perenne appartenente alla famiglia delle Lamiacee (Fig. 1) ed originaria del Nord America contenente diversi metaboliti secondari, in particolare il monoterpene Timolo, conosciuto in Letteratura per l\u2019attivit\ue0 dissuasiva verso i fitofagi aggressori delle piante. Attraverso diversi biosaggi effettuati in laboratorio si \ue8 osservato che l\u2019applicazione topica mediante Torre di Potter di diverse concentrazioni dell\u2019idrolato di Monarda ha provocato elevate mortalit\ue0 dopo 48 ore (Tab. 1), mentre nessuna attivit\ue0 repellente e fagodeterrente \ue8 stata osservata rispettivamente mediante biosaggi con olfattometro a Y e biosaggi con dieta artificiale con colorante