The Cellular Automata model FlySim was developed for simulating life and reproduction cycles of olive fruit flies (Bactrocera Oleae) and their behaviour, especially when they infest olive (Olea europaea) groves. This serious agricultural problem can be partially tackled in many ways, but not all the methods look sustainable, e.g., by using chemical agents at the first signs of the infestation. ...

Olive fly (Bactrocera oleae R.) is the most harmful insect pest of olive (Olea europaea L.) which strongly affects fruits and oil production. Despite the expanding economic importance of olive cultivation, up to now, only limited information on plant responses to B. oleae is available. Here, we demonstrate that olive fruits respond to B. oleae attack by producing changes in an array of differen...

Helicotylenchus oleae n. sp. and H. neopaxilli n. sp., from olive roots and soil in Italy, are described and illustrated. Helicotylenchus oleae can be distinguished from the related species H. canadensis and H. tunisiensis especially by the smaller styler, its distinctive tail shape, and a tail longer than one anal body width. Helicotylenchus neopaxilli differs from the close species H. paxilli...

The biology of olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), was studied in the laboratory, greenhouse, and in canning olives, Olea europaea L., in relation to California regional climates. Adults survived in laboratory tests at constant temperatures and relative humidities of 5 degrees C and 83%; 15 degrees C and 59%; 25 degrees C and 30%; and 35 degrees C and 29% for 15, 6, 3, and 2 d without pr...

Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is considered the most devastating pest of the olive tree worldwide. In an effort to develop management and biological control strategies against this pest, new molecular tools are urgently needed. In this study, we present the design of B. oleae-specific primers based on mitochondrial DNA sequences of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. Two ...

Males of certain species belonging to the Bactrocera dorsalis complex are strongly attracted to, and readily feed on methyl eugenol (ME), a plant secondary compound that is found in over 480 plant species worldwide. Amongst those species is one of the world's most severe fruit pests the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis s.s., and the former taxonomic species Bactrocera invadens, Bactrocer...

An automatic recognition algorithm was developed and tested for detection of certain defects or contaminants in X-ray images of agricultural commodities. Testing of the algorithm on wheat kernels infested with larvae of the granary weevil, Sitophilus granarius (L.) yielded comparable results to those obtained by human subjects evaluating digitized X-ray film images (14.4% overall error vs. 15.6...

The olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae is one of the key insect pests infesting orchards in Mediterranean areas. Its coevolution with tree, Olea europaea, made this pest highly specialized for crop, being responsible several yield reductions terms fruits and oil organoleptic properties. Monitoring is, to date, main tool assess entity infestations, but increasing availability biological informatio...

The olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Rossi, 1790) poses a significant threat to oliviculture worldwide, despite extensive chemical control measures. susceptibility of (Olea europaea L.) this pest varies among cultivars, with size being key factor interest, as it can be assessed using non-destructive automated technologies. In study, we investigated the oviposition preferences in six Italian tr...