---

The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner), is a serious pest on a wide range of economic crops in many parts of the world. In this study, digestive proteolytic and amylolytic activities of H. armigera larvae (3^rd to 5^th instars) were evaluated on five main host plants including chickpea (cv Hashem), cowpea (cv Mashhad), soybean (cv 033), navybean (cv Dehghan), and corn (cv SC 704) at 25 ± 1 °C, relative humidity of 65 ± 5% and a photoperiod of 16: 8 (L: D) hours. The results indicated that the highest enzyme activity was in 5^th instar. The highest general protease activity of 3^rd, 4^th and 5^thinstar larvae was found on corn. The larvae fed on corn had the lowest trypsin activity. This leads to hyperproduction of chymotrypsin and elastase-like enzymes to compensate the inhibition of trypsin. The larvae of H. armigera reared on cowpea had the highest level of amylase activity, and the lowest activity was in the larvae fed on corn. The results revealed that among host plants tested, corn was more resistant (unsuitable) to H. armigera. Study on digestive proteolytic and amylolytic activities of H. armigera can be used in identifying the antidigestive or antifeedent compounds, which will help us to design appropriate management programs.

---

Nutritional indices of the willow leaf beetle, Plagiodera versicolora Laicharting, third instar larvae and adults were studied on four host plants including Salix alba L., Salix aegyptica L., Populus caspica Bornm.and Populus alba L.at 22 ± 2 ºC, 70 ± 10% R.H., and a photoperiod of 16:8 h (L: D). The results showed that the highest consumed food by the larvae and adults (148.5 ± 18.0 and 175.21 ± 4.51 mg dry weight, respectively) was on P. caspica. The larvae fed on S. alba and S. aegyptica had the highest efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) (2.3 ± 0.33 and 2.23 ± 0.67%, respectively) and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) (2.5 ± 0.35 and 2.41 ± 0.72%, respectively). Approximate digestibility (AD) of larvae was the highest on P. caspica and P. alba (98.51 ± 0.25 and 98.14 ± 0.1%, respectively). The lowest relative consumption rate (RCR) of the larvae and adults was on S. alba (0.14 ± 0.001 and 0.13 ± 0.006 mg/mg/day, respectively). ECI and ECD values of the adults fed on various host plants were not significantly different. Adults fed on P. caspica had the highest values of RCR (0.59 ± 0.01 mg/mg/day), relative growth rate (RGR) (0.02 ± 0.008 mg/mg/day) and AD (98.72 ± 0.24%). These results demonstrated the higher feeding performance of the willow leaf beetle on P. caspica and its poorer performance on P. alba.  

---

Feeding performance of the green oak leaf roller, Tortrix viridana (Linnaeus) was determined on three host plants including Quercus libani Oliv, Quercus infectoria Oliv, and Quercus branti Lindl, under laboratory conditions. Mean total leaf weight consumed by larvae was the highest on Q. branti (0.31 g) and the lowest on Q. libani (0.14 g).The feeding index was the highest on Q. libani while the other two host plants were not significantly different. Significant relationships were found between amount of consumed leaf tissues and resulting pupal weight, on all host plants. Larval and pupal mortality were not significantly different on host plants. Findings indicated that the feeding index could be a key factor to assess performance of T. viridana on Quercus species.

---

Effects of four vegetable host plants, artichoke, cabbage, potato and tomato on nutritional indices of the cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) (Lep.: Noctuidae), were studied under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 5% RH, with a 16: 8 L: D photoperiod). Fourth instar reared on tomato showed the highest approximate digestibility (AD) (90.406 ± 1.125%) and efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) (30.249 ± 4.128%). The highest values of efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) and ECI of fifth instars (38.663 ± 4.34 and 20.083 ± 1.581%, respectively) were on artichoke and the lowest of both values on cabbage (ECD: 6.314 ± 1.128 and ECI: 5.448 ± 1.052%).The 3^rd to 6^th instars as a whole showed the highest ECD and ECI values on tomato (23.412 ± 2.252 and 19.845 ± 1.798%, respectively). However, the highest and lowest values of consumption index (CI) were on cabbage (33.943 ± 2.669) and tomato (6.145 ± 0.578). The highest values of relative consumption rate (RCR) and (AD) were obtained on cabbage (1.49 ± 0.109 mg/mg/day and 86.431 ± 1.141%, respectively). The results of nutritional indices and the cluster analysis indicate that tomato was nutritionally the most suitable food for S. littoralis.
 

---

View on Scopus

Seed-eater eurytomids of the genus Bruchophagus Ashmead, 1988 were collected from Ardabil and Qazvin provinces in northwest Iran. Various host plants were collected and their seeds were kept in laboratory conditions from 2007 to 2012. Scope of this paper focused on the Bruchophagus species reared from seeds of Astragalus brachydontus Boiss (Fabaceae). We obtained six species of Bruchophagus including B. astragali Fedoseeva. They were B. saxatilis Zerova; B. mutabilis Nikolaskaya; B. nikolskayae (Zerova); B. turkestanicus Zerova, and B. robiniae Zerova. Of which, Bruchophagus saxatilis Zerova, is a new record for the Iranian fauna. New host associations were found for all collected species and it seems a complex biological association that was recorded for the first time. Currently, 11 species of Bruchophagus are occurred inassociated with seeds of A. brachydontus. All previously known species of the genus Bruchophagus in Iran are also tabulated.

---

In this study, the nutritional indices of the larval stages of Helicoverpa armigera were determined on four vegetable crops under laboratory conditions (25 ± 1 °C, 65 ± 5% RH, with a 16:8 (L: D) h photoperiod). The third instar larvae reared on potato showed the highest value of efficiency on the conversion of ingested food (ECI) and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) (8.281 ± 0.767% and 11.016 ± 1.142%, respectively). The highest (0.129 ± 0.014 mg/mg/day) and lowest (0.069 ±0.012 mg/mg/day) relative growth rate (RGR) of the fourth instar larvae were obtained on potato and tomato, respectively. Data indicated that the highest value of (ECI) and (ECD) for fourth instar larvae were on tomato (12.361 ± 2.258% and 18.588 ± 3.834%, respectively). The lowest value of the relative consumption rate (RCR) and approximate digestibility (AD) of the fifth instar was recorded on tomato (0.592 ± 0.063 mg/mg/day) and potato (51.85 ± 4.607%), respectively. The ECI and ECD values of the fifth larval instar were the highest on tomato (12.477 ± 1.333% and 17.624 ± 1.609%, respectively). Overall, among different host plants tested, the highest ECI and ECD of all the larval instars were observed on tomato (9.813 ± 0.692% and 12.506 ± 0.882%, respectively), and the lowest values (3.735 ± 0.201% and 5.463 ± 0.426%) were on artichoke. Tomato and artichoke were the most nutritionally suitable and unsuitable host plants, respectively, for H. armigera.

 

---

 In this study, the effect of five host plants on the biology and food consumption of the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) was evaluated in Egypt. Developmental periods and weight of different growth stages, percentages of pupation and adult emergence, survival, and nutritional indices were evaluated on maize, castor oil, clover, broad bean, and lettuce. The results showed that the developmental period of S. frugiperda was significantly longer on the broad bean. The pupation percentage of S. frugiperda was significantly affected by the host plant. In contrast, the adult emergence was not significantly different on host plants. Our result also showed maximum weights in food consumption, and frass occurred in the larvae fed on lettuce. While the lowest weights for consumption were observed in larvae on maize and broad bean resulting in minimum frass weights. The highest percentage of approximate digestibility (AD) of the larvae was on broad bean and clover, and the lowest AD was by larvae fed on maize. The highest percentages of conversion of ingested food (ECI) and conversion of digested food (ECD) were observed for larvae fed on maize leaves. The lowest values of ECI and ECD were observed on larvae fed on broad bean leaves. Based on the results, it seems that lettuce, castor, and maize were preferred for S. frugiperda.


 

---

Integrated application of compatible methods is the most reliable strategy for sustainable management of phytophagous pests in different agroecosystems. In the current study, parasitism parameters of Trichogramma brassicae Bezdenko were determined on eggs of Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) reared on a susceptible "Infinity" and a resistant "Goldy" tomato cultivar. All experiments were carried out under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 1 ^°C, 65 ± 5% RH, and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L:D) h. Our results showed that the maximum number of parasitized hosts per parasitoid was 25.94 and 23 eggs in "Goldy" and "Infinity" cultivars, respectively. The cultivars tested had no significant effects on the net parasitism rate (C₀), and the values of this parameter were 7.87 and 6.67 hosts on the mentioned cultivars, respectively. Similarly, the cultivar impact on the finite (ω ) and stable parasitism rates (ψ ) of T. brassicae was not significant. The parasitoid needed approximately one egg host to produce an egg on both cultivars for the simple reason that this parasitoid nearly always lays one egg in each host. In other words, the transformation rate (Q_p) of the parasitoid on the "Goldy" did not differ from that estimated on the "Infinity". Our findings revealed that the resistant tomato cultivar, "Goldy", did not compromise T. brassicae-based biocontrol of T. absoluta. Therefore, these two control procedures could be combined for the integrated management of this pest.

 

---

The purpose of this research was to study the antimicrobial activities of the endophytic fungi from Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. The endophytic fungi were isolated from branches and leaves of Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers., and sixty nine isolates were obtained. All isolates were screened for antibacterial and antifungal activities. The indicator organisms were 4 bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, two yeasts, namely, Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans, and 6 molds including Rhizopus spp., Mucor spp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp., Curvularia spp.,and Alternaria spp.. It was found that 28 and 16 isolates showed antibacterial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria, respectively. Also, 11 and 17 isolates showed antifungal activity against yeasts and hyaline non-septate hyphae, respectively. Besides, 13 and 65 isolates showed antifungal activity against hyaline septate and dematiaceous, respectively. There were 9 isolates that could inhibit bacteria, yeast, and molds. Macroscopic and microscopic examination of the fungal morphology revealed that most of the endophytic fungi (25 isolates) were hyaline septate hyphae. Only 3 isolates were hyaline non-septate hyphae. Fusarium spp. and Acremonium spp. were the predominate species among the isolated endophytic fungi. These results indicated that some endophytic fungi isolated from Sesbania grandiflora (L.) Pers. were potential sources of antimicrobial compounds against the tested bacteria, yeasts, and molds.