Acaricidal and oviposition deterring effects of santalol identified in sandalwood oil against two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Thirty-four plant essential oils were screened for their acaricidal and oviposition deterrent activities against two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), in the laboratory using a leaf-dip bioassay. From initial trials, sandalwood and common thyme oils were observed to be the most effective against TSSM adult females. Subsequent trials confirmed that only sandalwood oil was significantly active (87.2 ± 2.9% mortality) against TSSM adult females. Sandalwood oil also demonstrated oviposition deterring effects based on a 89.3% reduction of the total number of eggs on leaf disks treated with the oil. GC–MS analysis revealed that the main components of the sandalwood oil were α-santalol (45.8%), β-santalol (20.6%), β-sinensal (9.4%), and epi-β-santalol (3.3%). A mixture of α- and β-santalol (51.0:22.9, respectively) produced significantly higher mortality (85.5 ± 2.9%) and oviposition deterrent effects (94.7% reduction in the number of eggs) than the control. Phytotoxicity was not shown on rose shoots to which a 0.1% solution of sandalwood oil was applied

Mineralization of Acephate, a Recalcitrant Organophosphate Insecticide Is Initiated by a Pseudomonad in Environmental Samples

An aerobic bacterium capable of breaking down the pesticide acephate (O,S-dimethyl acetyl phosphoramidothioic acid) was isolated from activated sludge collected from a pesticide manufacturing facility. A phylogenetic tree based on the 16 S rRNA gene sequence determined that the isolate lies within the Pseudomonads. The isolate was able to grow in the presence of acephate at concentrations up to 80 mM, with maximum growth at 40 mM. HPLC and LC-MS/MS analysis of spent medium from growth experiments and a resting cell assay detected the accumulation of methamidophos and acetate, suggesting initial hydrolysis of the amide linkage found between these two moieties. As expected, the rapid decline in acephate was coincident with the accumulation of methamidophos. Methamidophos concentrations were maintained over a period of days, without evidence of further metabolism or cell growth by the cultures. Considering this limitation, strains such as described in this work can promote the first step of acephate mineralization in soil microbial communities

Efficacy of Major Plant Extracts/Molecules on Field Insect Pests

Insect pests are considered the major hurdle in enhancing the production and productivity of any farming system. The use of conventional synthetic pesticides has led to the emergence of pesticide-resistant insects, environmental pollution, and negative effects on natural enemies, which have caused an ecological imbalance of the predator-prey ratio and human health hazards; therefore, eco-friendly alternative strategies are required. The plant kingdom, a rich repertoire of secondary metabolites, can be tapped as an alternative for insect pest management strategies. A number of plants have been documented to have insecticidal properties against various orders of insects in vitro by acting as antifeedants, repellents, sterilant and oviposition deterrents, etc. However, only a few plant compounds are applicable at the field level or presently commercialised. Here, we have provided an overview of the broad-spectrum insecticidal activity of plant compounds from neem, Annona, Pongamia, and Jatropha. Additionally, the impact of medicinal plants, herbs, spices, and essential oils has been reviewed briefl

Marsland Press Journal

Abstract: The paper deals with recent botanical enigma of India's hottest chilli 'Bhoot Jolokia', or 'Bih Jolokia' earlier identified as Capsicum chinense, now identified as Capsicum assamicum Purakyasth et al., as new species from Assam, India. But after the detail investigation as well as literature survey it has been found the new species has no novel characters other than Capsicum chinense Jacq. Hence the establishment of the species is in question

Morphoagronomic characteristics display high genetic diversity in Murupi chili pepper landraces

Murupi chili pepper is a hot Amazonian pepper that has been used as flavoring in the region, yet its diversity is unknown. This paper aims to assess the diversity in 20 landraces from Peruvian, Colombian, and Brazilian Amazon. The experiment was installed in Manaus-AM, using a randomized complete block design with three replicates and five plants per plot. Analyses of variance showed significant differences for all nine descriptors. Fruit yield showed, in average, to be 208.08 fruits per plant, tantamount to 381.44 g per plant. Given 50% of relative distances estimated by generalized Mahalanobis distances and, nearest neighbor clustering, they displayed six groups. Cluster I comprised 50% of the landraces. Clusters IV, V and VI were represented by ‘8’ (Putumayo, Colombia), ‘27’ (Yurimaguas, Peru) and ‘24’ (Jutaí-AM, Brazil), respectively. The highest yielding landrace showed to be ‘17’ (Manicoré-AM, Brazil), bearing 685.5 fruits and 1.92 kg per plant. Our findings suggest Murupi pepper may possibly be improved by selection and/ or hybridization. © 2018, Sociedade de Olericultura do Brasil. All rights reserved