There has been a great increase in breeding work on cool season turfgrass cultivars since the Plant Variety Protection (P.V.P.) Act was signed into law in December, 1970. This law, which is similar to the Plant Patent Law except that it covers sexual and asexual species, permits the developer of a new cultivar to exclude others from any unauthorized reproduction or marketing. This does not excl...

A fully developed integrated pest management (IPM) system uses all available strategies for a given pest or pest complex in a cropping system; incorporating host plant resistance, biological, cultural and physical controls and chemical control when necessary (Pedigo, 1999). Several such management strategies have been developed in alfalfa for the potato leafhopper (Empoasca fabae) (PLH). The fi...

Understanding genetic variation among populations of medically significant pest insects is important in studying insecticide resistance and insect dispersal. The bed bug, Cimex lectularius L. (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), is widespread hematophagus insect pest around the world, including North America, and it has recently been identified as an emerging resurgent pest. To date, no studies have been co...

The modular design of plants enables individual plant organs to manifest autonomous functions and continue aspects of metabolism, such as respiration, even after separation from the parent plant. Therefore, we hypothesized that harvested vegetables and fruits may retain capacity to perceive and respond to external stimuli. For example, the fitness advantage of plant circadian clock function is ...

Diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), has become the most destructive insect pest of cruciferous vegetables (Brassica oleracea L.) worldwide, and is a continuing problem especially in the southern United States. Because of inconsistencies in individual control methods, inefficiencies and time demands of scouting, and the lack of clear thresholds, current managem...

Western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera Le Conte) is a dangerous quarantine pest of corn. To localize and eliminate new foci its invasion on the territory Belarus an assessment was made biological efficiency insecticides from different classes: neonicotinoids – 20.8–95.5 %, pyrethroids 75.2–100 organophosphorus compounds 86.0–100 % combined 85.1–100 %. The developed tactics for application ...

The Asian corn borer (ACB), Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), is the most destructive insect pest of corn in China. Susceptibility to the Cry1F toxin derived from Bacillus thuringiensis has been demonstrated for ACB, suggesting the potential for Cry1F inclusion as part of an insect pest management program. Insects can develop resistance to Cry toxins, which threatens the de...

The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Mi-1 gene encodes a protein with putative coiled-coil nucleotide-binding site and leucine-rich repeat motifs. Mi-1 confers resistance to root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.), potato aphids (Macrosiphum euphorbiae), and sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). To identify genes required in the Mi-1-mediated resistance to nematodes and aphids, we used tobacco ra...