Stored product protection perspectives in Spain

There is an important food industry in Spain that represents the main industry sector, accounting 16.2% of net product sales and 14.6% of industrial employment. Consumption of many types of cereals, dried fruits and nuts, legumes and spices in Spain is very high as they are a component of our traditional food. A number of these food products could be stored after the harvest season for more than 3 months, and be processed little by little during the year. The storage of imported commodities is similar except for those products with high demand that are commonly processed in a period of 1-month or less. Both silos and warehouses are used for the storage of raw material and final food products. A number of pest species can affect both commodities and processing facilities, among them several Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Psocid and Mite species. Chemical control based on residual insecticides and fumigants is the most common pest control method used. In Spain, there are a limited number of active compounds that are allowed to use for stored pest control. As a consequence pesticide resistant insect strains are already present in some areas. Treatments are concentrated in summer when temperatures are optimal for insect development. Among pesticides, phosphine has replaced in most cases the use of methyl bromide after its phase out. There is an increasing use of prevention, hygiene, monitoring of pests and alternative control methods. HACCP protocols and IPM are followed by a number of companies. Other methodologies in use are Modified Atmospheres for both fumigation or packaging and, CO2 at high pressure for treating spices and herbs. Biological control is not used and still not known as an alternative control method by the agro-food industry. Keywords: stored products, pest control, chemical control, IP

Understanding the Native-Immigrant Test Scores Gap : The Case of Finland

This Master’s Thesis studies the immigrant-native gap in terms of test performance in the PISA assessments for Finland. Data suggest that students with immigrant background perform worse than natives. I provide evidence that this unconditional gap is partially offset when some variables are introduced in the analysis. Socioeconomic status and age of arrival seem to play the biggest role in explaining the difference in performance. Some degree of heterogeneity is also found within the immigrant population in terms of performance across the socioeconomic status distribution or the language spoken at home

Distribution of insect pests and their natural enemies in a barley pile

The distribution and abundance of stored product pests and their natural enemies infesting the upper layer of a barley pile was assessed in this study. Sampling was carried out on a monthly basis from February to December 2009. Insects were sampled with a grain trier and pitfall traps. Yellow sticky traps were also used to capture flying insects. Most abundantly captured species were, in order of abundance: Rhyzopertha dominica, Sitophilus granarius, and Latheticus oryzae. Fewer individuals of other species were occasionally captured, such as Cryptolestes ferrugineus, Oryzaephilus surinamensis, Lasioderma serricorne and Stegobium paniceum. Concerning Hymenoptera, the species Anisopteromalus calandrae and Cephalonomia waterstoni were abundantly captured with yellow and pitfall traps, while lower numbers were captured with the grain trier trap. Comparing pitfall and grain trier captures, in the former one, natural enemies were abundantly captured, whilst captures with the grain trier were punctual. The predator Withius piger (Pseudoscorpionida: Withiidae) was captured both with grain trier and pitfall traps. Its captures peaked in August-September. The abundance of coleopteran pests varied among the different depths sampled and the time of the year. The highest captures of pests occurred in March and May; the natural enemy A. calandrae peaked in April, and C. waterstoni was scarcely captured. The three species of natural enemies were occasionally found in the deepest samples, thus, they were able to penetrate around 80-cm deep in the grain searching for their hosts.Keywords: Grain, Sampling, Biological control, Host finding

De San Cristóbal

Abstract not availabl

Aprendre tota la vida. Breu anàlisi de la llei d'Educació d'Adults

Abstract not availabl

A SOLAR HIEROPHANY AT THE WESTERN TAULA ENCLOSURE OF SO NA CAÇANA (MENORCA)

El artículo presenta la primera evidencia documentada de una hierofanía solar en un monumento talayótico en la isla de Menorca. Durante el inicio de la trayectoria descendente del Sol en el horizonte, en el solsticio de invierno, existe un lapso en el que el astro se sitúa a la misma altura aparente que la ventana que se abre en la fachada del recinto de taula oeste de So na Caçana. En ese momento del año, un rayo de luz penetra por dicha abertura, iluminando el suelo ante el espacio en el que se colocaban las representaciones de las divinidades en este tipo de edificios. La documentación de este fenómeno aporta datos completamente novedosos acerca de los rituales que se llevaban a cabo en estos santuarios, además de establecer unas fechas claras e importantes en el desconocido calendario utilizado por las comunidades humanas menorquinas de la Segunda Edad del Hierro.The article presents the first documented evidence of a solar hierophany in a Talayotic monument on the island of Menorca. As the sun path approaches the horizon on the winter solstice day, there is a time frame in which the sun is at the same apparent height as the window on the facade of the west taula enclosure of So na Caçana. At that time of the year, a ray of light goes through that window, illuminating the floor in front of the space where the divine representations were placed. The documentation of this phenomenon provides completely new data about the rituals that took place in these sanctuaries, and it establishes a precise and important date in the unknown calendar used by Menorcan communities during the second Iron Age

Impact of the Parasitoids Anisopteromalus calandrae (Howard) and Lariophagus distinguendus (Förster) on Three Pests of Stored Rice

Various pest species cause significant damage to stored rice, and polyphagous parasitoids could offer an appropriate biological control strategy. Among the beneficial species colonising silos and warehouses of rice, the generalist pteromalid parasitoids Anisopteromalus calandrae and Lariophagus distinguendus have been found to be prevalent in samples collected in the northeast of Spain. In this study, the Spanish strains of both parasitoids have shown that they may play important roles in controlling three coleopteran pests of stored rice: Sitophilus oryzae, Rhyzopertha dominica and Lasioderma serricorne. They reduced the number of pests that emerged due to effective parasitism (parasitoids reaching the adult stage and emerging from the grain), combined with other sources of host mortality, such as parasitoid immature mortality and parasitoid host feeding. Both parasitoids preferentially attack S. oryzae, which is a key pest of stored rice, but they also play an important role in the control of R. dominica, a less important pest. Although both parasitoids could consume L. serricorne larvae, their efficacy is low, and more specific natural enemies should be evaluated for the control of this pestinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Parasitism of single or combined pyralid populations by Venturia canescens and Habrobracon hebetor in laboratory and storeroom conditions

Venturia canescens and Habrobracon hebetor are cosmopolitan parasitoids found in large numbers in food processing facilities in northeastern Spain and in many other countries. These parasitoids attack larvae of pyralid moths, which are important pests of stored products and food industries worldwide. In this study, we evaluated the performance of these two parasitoids when offered single or combined populations of Plodia interpunctella and Ephestia kuehniella, since these can occur together in storehouses. We tested the parasitoid’s performance in small cages under laboratory conditions and small experimental storerooms (≈ 30 m3). In the laboratory, the two parasitoids were able to reduce pyralid populations by more than 37% over a 48-h period (40–44% for E. kuehniella, 37–41% of P. interpunctella and 53–55% of both hosts when offered together). Similar results were obtained in small storerooms after 10 days: a > 35% reduction in pyralid populations also was obtained when host species were offered either singly (E. kuehniella or P. interpunctella) or in combination (E. kuehniella + P. interpunctella) (35–57% for E. kuehniella, 40–54% of P. interpunctella and 41–46% of both hosts when offered together). Parasitism was consistently good from June through November (mean temperatures from 18 to 28 °C and 9.5 to 15 h of daylight). Therefore, both parasitoids, single or in combination, can be efficient biological control agents of these two pyralid moths when infesting stored food facilities.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Geoshow3D, una aplicación de cartografía dinámica 3D

Peer Reviewe

Impact of Diets Including Agro-Industrial By-Products on the Fatty Acid and Sterol Profiles of Larvae Biomass from Ephestia kuehniella, Tenebrio molitor and Hermetia illucens

Rearing insects on agro-industrial by-products is a sustainable strategy for the circular economy while producing valuable products for feed and foods. In this context, this study investigated the impact of larvae diet containing agro-industrial by-products on the contents of fatty acids and sterols of Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), Tenebrio molitor (L.) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and Hermetia illucens (L.) (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). For each insect, selected diets were formulated using single or combined agro-industrial by-products (i.e., apricot, brewer’s spent grain and yeast, and feed mill) and compared to a control diet. Fatty acid profiles showed differences depending on diet composition, but mostly depended on species: H. illucens was characterized by the abundance of C12:0, C16:0 and C18:2, whereas C:16, C18:1(n-9c), and C18:2(n-6c) were predominant in T. molitor and E. kuehniella. Sterols significantly varied as a function of diet composition and species. H. illucens showed low cholesterol levels and high campesterol and β sitosterol levels (0.031, 0.554 and 1.035 mg/g, respectively), whereas T. molitor and E. kuehniella had high cholesterol and low campesterol contents (1.037 and 0.078 g/kg, respectively, for T. molitor; 0.873 and 0.132 g/kg, respectively, for E. kuehniella).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio