anthocoris nemoralis (f.) (hemiptera: anthocoridae) is one of the most prominent predators of the pear psylla, cacopsylla pyricola (forster) (hemiptera: psyllidae) and is considered as a biological control agent against this pest. in order to investigate the effects of plant varieties on predation of c. pyricola by a. nemoralis, the functional response of both the sexes of a. nemoralis to pear ...

rosy apple aphid, dysaphis plantaginea (passerini), with worldwide distribution is an important pest of apple orchards. host plant resistance is an essential component of integrated management of this insect pest. we investigated the resistance of seven apple cultivars, malus domestica (borkhausen), namely granny smith, starkrimson, golden smoothee, red delicious, golden delicious, boshghabi, a...

the strawberry spider mite (ssm), tetranychus turkestani ugarov & nikolski, is an important pest of greenhouse cucumber in tropical and temperate regions of the world. the use of the host plant resistance is a basic method to reduce pesticide application in greenhouses. in this study, the biological responses of ssm to six greenhouse cucumber cultivars (puia, hedieh, milad ghadim, milad jad...

This study investigated the dynamics of parasitism, host plant resistance, pathogens, and predation on the demography of wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus Norton (Hymenoptera: Cephidae), developing in susceptible (hollow stem) and resistant (solid stem) wheat hosts. This study is also the first to investigate the prevalence and impact of cannibalism on wheat stem sawfly mortality. Wheat stem sa...

Pathogens can be an important selective agent in plant evolution because they can severely reduce plant fitness and growth. However, the role of pathogen selection on plant evolution depends on the extent of genetic variation for resistance traits and their covariance with host fitness. Although it is usually assumed that resistance traits will covary with plant fitness, this assumption has not...

Aphids are economically important pests that cause extensive feeding damage and transmit viruses. While some species have a broad host range and cause damage to a variety of crops, others are restricted to only closely related plant species. While probing and feeding aphids secrete saliva, containing effectors, into their hosts to manipulate host cell processes and promote infestation. Aphid ef...

Plant breeding for disease resistance is crucial to sustain global crop production. For decades, plant breeders and researchers have extensively used host plant resistance genes (R-genes) to develop disease resistant cultivars. However, the general instability of R-genes in crop cultivars when challenged with diverse pathogen populations emphasizes the need for more stable means of resistance. ...

A recently published article describing the draft genome of Erwiniamallotivora BT-Mardi (1), the causal pathogen of papaya dieback infection in Peninsular Malaysia, hassignificant potential to overcome and reduce the effect of this vulnerable crop (2). The authors found that the draft genome sequenceis approximately 4824 kbp and the G+C content of the genomewas 52-54%, which is very similarto t...

The ability of plant viruses to propagate their genomes in host cells depends on many host factors. In the absence of an agrochemical that specifically targets plant viral infection cycles, one of the most effective methods for controlling viral diseases in plants is taking advantage of the host plant's resistance machinery. Recessive resistance is conferred by a recessive gene mutation that en...