EFECTO DE POLVOS DE ASTERÁCEAS SOBRE EL GORGOJO DEL MAÍZ (SITOPHILUS ZEAMAIS MOTSCH)

Eighty one species of Asteraceae collectedin the Mexican highlands were evaluatedfor their usefulness against the maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motsch). Flowersand leaves of each species were separated,dehydrated, and ground. One hundredgrams of disinfected grains of maize cv.Cacahuazintle were placed in 250 ml glassjar and mixed with 100 g of plant powder.Ten pairs of 3 to 5 day old weevils werethen introduced into each jar. Only grainsand insects were placed in control jars.All the experimental jars were kept underconstant relative humidity and temperature.After 15 days, all the insects were removed and mortality was recorded. Fifty fivedays after the experiment was initiated, F1progeny emergence was assessed. Basedon mortalities ranging from 80 to 98%, thebest treatments were the leaf powders of Aster subulatus, Chrysactinia mexicana,Heliopsis annua, Heterotheca subaxillaris,Parthenium incanum, Stevia serrata, andZinnia peruviana, as well as floral powdersof Thymophylla pentachaeta, Erigeronlongipes, Heterotheca inuloides var. rosei,Senecio flaccidus, and Stevia serrata. Withregard to F1 emergence, the best treatmentwas the leaf powder of C. mexicana,which totally prevented F1 progeny fromemerging.El gorgojo del maíz (Sitophilus zeamaisMotsch) es la principal plaga del maíz almacenado y puede causar daño total si nose controla. Se evaluó el efecto insecticidade 162 polvos vegetales, provenientes de81 asteráceas recolectadas en el altiplanopotosino mexicano. Las flores y hojas decada especie se separaron, deshidratarony molieron. Para ensayar cada especie, secolocaron 100 g de maíz “cacahuazintle”desinfestado en un frasco de vidrio concapacidad de 250 mL, y se mezclaron con 1g del polvo vegetal, después se introdujeron10 parejas de gorgojos, de tres a cinco díasde edad, y se mantuvieron a 62.5±2.5% dehumedad relativa ambiental y temperaturade 22.5±2.5ºC. Al frasco del testigo sólo seagregó el maíz y las parejas de gorgojos.Luego de 15 días se retiraron los insectos yse registró su mortalidad, y 55 días despuésse evaluó la emergencia de la F1. Con baseen la mortalidad, los mejores tratamientosfueron: polvo foliar de Aster subulatus,Chrysactinia mexicana, Heliopsis annua,Hetherotheca inuloides Cass. var. rosei,Parthenium incanum, Stevia serrata y Zinnia peruviana, así como el polvo floral deDyssodia pentachaeta, Erigeron longipes,Hetherotheca inuloides Cass. var. rosei, Senecio flacidus y S. serrata, con mortalidadesde 80 a 98%. Con respecto a la emergencia,el mejor tratamiento fue el polvo de hojasde C. mexicana, con el cual no se registrópresencia de progenie

Efecto de polvos de asteráceas sobre el gorgojo del maíz (Sitophilus zeamais Motsch)

Eighty one species of Asteraceae collected in the Mexican highlands were evaluated for their usefulness against the maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais Motsch). Flowers and leaves of each species were separated, dehydrated, and ground. One hundred grams of disinfected grains of maize cv. Cacahuazintle were placed in 250 ml glass jar and mixed with 100 g of plant powder. Ten pairs of 3 to 5 day old weevils were then introduced into each jar. Only grains and insects were placed in control jars. All the experimental jars were kept under constant relative humidity and temperature. After 15 days, all the insects were removed and mortality was recorded. Fifty five days after the experiment was initiated, F1 progeny emergence was assessed. Based on mortalities ranging from 80 to 98%, the best treatments were the leaf powders of Aster subulatus, Chrysactinia mexicana, Heliopsis annua, Heterotheca subaxillaris, Parthenium incanum, Stevia serrata, and Zinnia peruviana, as well as floral powders of Thymophylla pentachaeta, Erigeron longipes, Heterotheca inuloides var. rosei, Senecio flaccidus, and Stevia serrata. With regard to F1 emergence, the best treatment was the leaf powder of C. mexicana, which totally prevented F1 progeny from emerging.El gorgojo del maíz (Sitophilus zeamais Motsch) es la principal plaga del maíz almacenado y puede causar daño total si no se controla. Se evaluó el efecto insecticida de 162 polvos vegetales, provenientes de 81 asteráceas recolectadas en el altiplano potosino mexicano. Las flores y hojas de cada especie se separaron, deshidrataron y molieron. Para ensayar cada especie, se colocaron 100 g de maíz "cacahuazintle" desinfestado en un frasco de vidrio con capacidad de 250 mL, y se mezclaron con 1 g del polvo vegetal, después se introdujeron 10 parejas de gorgojos, de tres a cinco días de edad, y se mantuvieron a 62.5±2.5% de humedad relativa ambiental y temperatura de 22.5±2.5ºC. Al frasco del testigo sólo se agregó el maíz y las parejas de gorgojos. Luego de 15 días se retiraron los insectos y se registró su mortalidad, y 55 días después se evaluó la emergencia de la F1. Con base en la mortalidad, los mejores tratamientos fueron: polvo foliar de Aster subulatus, Chrysactinia mexicana, Heliopsis annua, Hetherotheca inuloides Cass. var. rosei, Parthenium incanum, Stevia serrata y Zinnia peruviana, así como el polvo floral de Dyssodia pentachaeta, Erigeron longipes, Hetherotheca inuloides Cass. var. rosei, Senecio flacidus y S. serrata, con mortalidades de 80 a 98%. Con respecto a la emergencia, el mejor tratamiento fue el polvo de hojas de C. mexicana, con el cual no se registró presencia de progenie

Effects of feeding the seeds of Prosopis laevigata, Acacia schaffneri and Ceratonia siliqua on the performance of broiler chicks

The aim of the present study was to assess the nutrient contents and potential feeding value in the diet of broiler chicks of the seed of three tree species, mesquite (Prosopis laevigata), Schaffneri´s wattle (Acacia schaffneri) and the carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua). The dry matter (DM), ash, crude protein (CP), amino acid and fatty acid concentrations of the seeds were determined. Growth performance was measured in terms of weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Sixty-four day-old Cobb broiler chicks were randomly assigned to the following treatments: control diet; control + P. laevigata; control + A. schaffneri and control + C. siliqua. The diets were formulated to contain 200 - 210 g CP/kg and 13.39 MJ ME/kg, with approximately 60 g CP/kg diet originating from the respective seeds. Prosopis laevigata contained the highest protein level (394 g/kg DM), followed by A. schaffneri (229 g/kg DM) and C. siliqua (183 g/kg DM). The concentration of linoleic acid in the fat was found to be the highest in all three species, followed by oleic acid. The methionine concentration in the seed of the three species was low compared with that in soybean meal. Weight gain and feed intake of the chicks were significantly higher in the control diet and there were no significant differences between P. laevigata and A. schaffneri. Chicks receiving C. siliqua had the lowest weight gain. Feed conversion ratio was the lowest in the control diet, with no significant differences between the P. laevigata and A. schaffneri treatments, while C. siliqua had the highest feed conversion ratio. It is concluded that the seeds of the two species, P. laevigata and A. schaffneri, could partially replace commercial feed ingredients as protein and energy sources in diets of poultry kept under subsistence farming conditions in rural areas of Mexico.Keywords: Wild seeds, mesquite, Schaffneri´s wattle, carob, small-scale poultry production, backyar