The sap sucking insects (Hemiptera), which include aphids, whiteflies, plant bugs and stink bugs, have emerged as major agricultural pests. The Hemiptera cause direct damage by feeding on crops, and in some cases indirect damage by transmission of plant viruses. Current management relies almost exclusively on application of classical chemical insecticides. While the development of transgenic cr...

Phenolic esters have attracted considerable interest due to the potential they offer for peroxidase catalysed cross-linking of cell wall polysaccharides. Particularly, feruloyl residues undergo radical coupling reactions that result in cross-linking (intra-/intermolecular) between polysaccharides, between polysaccharides and lignin and, between polysaccharides and proteins. This review addresse...

Plant-mediated RNA interference (RNAi) shows great potential in crop protection. It relies on plants stably expressing double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) that target essential genes in pest insects. Practical application of this strategy is challenging because producing sufficient amounts of stable dsRNA in plants has proven to be difficult to achieve with conventional transgenesis. In addition, man...

The growth of plants and insects occurs only above a minimum temperature threshold. In insects, the growth rate depends on the temperature above the threshold up to a maximum. In plants the growth rate above the threshold generally depends on the availability of sunlight. Thus, the relative growth rates of crops and insect phytophages are expected to differ between temperature regimes. We shoul...

Subterranean insect pests cause considerable economic damage but their concealment makes detection difficult. A portable acoustic system was developed and tested for its potential to rate the likelihood that trees in citrus groves were infested with Diaprepes abbreviatus (L.) larvae. The likelihood was rated independently by a computer program and an experienced listener that distinguished inse...

introduction: codling moth, cydia pomonella is one of the key pests of apple in khorasan razavi province which annually causes severe fruit damage to apple crop. there are several ways that are used to control and prevent injury to apple products in the world. the most successful and widespread use of pheromones has been in monitoring traps. mating disruption method by pheromones takes place wh...

Introduction Resistance is a natural phenomenon, a result of evolution and adaptation to environment. When a pest population is exposed to a pest management tool, whether chemical, biological, or cultural, the individuals in that population that are genetically predisposed to overcome the management tool are more likely to survive and pass their genes on to the next generation. Over multiple ge...

Insects are the largest group of animals in world—there over a million species insects, and they live just about everywhere! provide essential services for us ecosystems, such as pollination, nutrient recycling, pest control. Yet, most pay little attention to insects. Worryingly, insects also face many threats and, across globe, their populations at risk. Understanding importance is vital prote...

Plants and Insects are studied since decades, but, most of the time, separately. In Agronomy, plants are studied in order to improve crop yields while insects are studied in order to control their (negative or positive) impacts on crop yields. It is well known that plants and insects are always in interaction but, surprisingly, they are very few mathematical models of these interactions. For in...

Automated methods of monitoring stored grain for insect pests will contribute to early detection and aid in management of pest problems. An insect population infesting stored oats at a seed processing plant in north-central Florida was studied to test a device for counting insects electronically (Electronic Grain Probe Insect Counter, EGPIC), and to characterize the storage environment. The dev...