Most studies on chemical and biological control of arthropod pests of agriculture do not consider the effects of partial host plant resistance. We present research using two partially resistant and a susceptible cultivar of common cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) and determining specific effects of interactions between the host plants, one or two common crucifer aphids (Myzus persic...

The effects of host biodiversity on disease risk may vary greatly depending on host population structure and climatic conditions. Agricultural diseases such as potato late blight, caused by Phytophthora infestans, provide the opportunity to study the effects of intraspecific host diversity that is relatively well-defined in terms of disease resistance phenotypes and may have functional impacts ...

Pest management is essential to maintain agricultural production, but recent shifts in policies and the development of insecticide resistance have restricted availability insecticides for pest suppression. Identifying landscape-level resource requirements pests complete their life cycles might unveil new sustainable solutions regulate populations prevent crop damage. We assessed effects landsca...

Pyrethroid insecticides target voltage-gated sodium channels, which are critical for electrical signaling in the nervous system. The intensive use of pyrethroids in controlling arthropod pests and disease vectors has led to many instances of pyrethroid resistance around the globe. In the past two decades, studies have identified a large number of sodium channel mutations that are associated wit...

The increased urbanization of a growing global population makes imperative the development of sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for urban pest control. This emphasizes pests that are closely associated with the health and wellbeing of humans and domesticated animals. Concurrently there are regulatory requirements enforced to minimize inadvertent exposures to insecticides i...

The western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, is among the most serious insect pests of maize in North America. One strategy used to manage this pest is transgenic maize that produces one or more crystalline (Cry) toxins derived from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). To delay Bt resistance by insect pests, refuges of non-Bt maize are grown in conjunction with Bt ma...

In 2011, practitioners and advocates of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) find themselves addressing agricultural, societal, and political pressures worldwide resulting from human population growth. This growth brings simultaneous burdens of sustaining a steady food supply; these include preventing losses from pests, dealing with increased human global travel, which in turn intensifies opportuni...

Plants naturally emit methanol as volatile organic compound. Methanol is toxic to insect pests; but the quantity produced by most of the plants is not enough to protect them against invading insect pests. In the present study, we demonstrated that the over-expression of pectin methylesterase, derived from Arabidopsis thaliana and Aspergillus niger, in transgenic tobacco plants enhances methanol...

the house fly, musca domestica l., is known as one of the most important hygiene problems worldwide. it has shown a high potential to develop resistance to chemical insecticides. this study was undertaken to determine the susceptibility or resistance of the house fly, which were collected from 3 livestock farms near the city of ahvaz, to prevalent pyrethroid insecticides (delthamethrin, lambda-...