Data Mining Practical Machine Learning Tools and Techniques

Methyl bromide is used to control insects as a space fumigant in flour and feed mills and ship holds, as a product fumigant for some fruit and cereals, and for general quarantine purposes. Methyl bromide acts rapidly, controlling insects in less than 48 h in space fumigations, and it has a wide spectrum of activity, controlling not only insects but also nematodes and plant-pathogenic microbes. This chemical will be banned in 2005 in developed countries, except for exceptional quarantine purposes, because it depletes ozone in the atmosphere. Many alternatives have been tested as replacements for methyl bromide, from physical control methods such as heat, cold, and sanitation to fumigant replacements such as phosphine, sulfuryl fluoride, and carbonyl sulfide, among others. Individual situations will require their own type of pest control techniques, but the most promising include integrated pest management tactics and combinations of treatments such as phosphine, carbon dioxide, and heat.

Alternatives to methyl bromide treatments for stored-product and quarantine insects.

The role of the anaerobic metabolites, acetaldehyde and ethanol, in fruit ripening, enhancement of fruit quality and fruit deterioration

1. In paragraph 13 of decision XX/20 of the Twentieth Meeting of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the parties requested the Secretariat to inform the Open-ended Working Group about all sources of income received, including the reserves, fund balance and interest, and to provide an indicative report on all expenditures against the agreed budget lines.

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer

Eradication is the deliberate elimination of a species from an area. Given that international quarantine measures can never be 100% effective, surveillance for newly arrived populations of nonnative species coupled with their eradication represents an important strategy for excluding potentially damaging insect species. Historically, eradication efforts have not always been successful and have sometimes been met with public opposition. But new developments in our understanding of the dynamics of low-density populations, the availability of highly effective treatment tactics, and bioeconomic analyses of eradication strategies offer new opportunities for developing more effective surveillance and eradication programs. A key component that connects these new developments is the harnessing of Allee effects, which naturally promote localized species extinction. Here we review these developments and suggest how research might enhance eradication strategies.

https://www.fs.fed.us/nrs/pubs/jrnl/2016/nrs_2016_liebhold_001.pdf

Eradication of Invading Insect Populations: From Concepts to Applications.

A synthetic sex pheromone trapping survey of the leaf skeletonizer Uraba lugens Walker (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) demonstrated the unexpectedly widespread distribution of the insect across >40,000 ha of urban Auckland, New Zealand. A survey of eucalyptus trees planted in parks and other public areas showed a significant spatial correlation between trap catch and breeding populations, validating the trap survey results. Traps in trees showing damage had four-fold higher catches than traps placed in undamaged or nonhost trees, and <1% of damaged trees with traps failed to catch adult moths. Damage by larval feeding was correlated with male trap catch in the previous generation, offering good prospects for a pest management decision support system, provided that an economic threshold is developed. Catches increased by 3.4-fold in the same georeferenced trapping grid between November and December 2003 and between March and April 2004 across two generations, over the summer. A vertical transect showed that catches increased with height up to the top trap at 13 m (60% of mean tree height). Options for managing the insect will need to overcome the high rate of increase, the rate of spread, and the vertical distribution of the insect on tall eucalyptus trees.

Uraba lugens (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) in New Zealand: pheromone trapping for delimitation and phenology.

Citrus red mite (CRM) populations can reach high levels in citrus orchards after the application of broad-spectrum pesticides to control other pests. It is important to know which are the key biocontrol agents of CRM in New Zealand in order to minimise use of pesticides toxic to these natural enemies. CRM and natural enemies were monitored in seven orchards from January 2004 to March 2005. Ladybirds, Stethorus sp. and Halmus chalybeus, and predatory mites, Agistemus longisetus, Amblyseius largoensis and Phytoseiulus persimilus, were observed consuming CRM. Stethorus sp. and A. longisetus were the most abundant natural enemies found with CRM. The presence of 0.5 live Stethorus sp. per leaf and 0.5-1 A. longisetus per leaf was associated with the decline of CRM populations (15 eggs and 15 juvenile/adults per leaf) to ∂ trace∑ levels in 4-5 weeks. The use of neonicotinoid products can disrupt the predatory activity of Stethorus sp. against CRM.

/pdf/natural-enemies-of-citrus-red-mite-panonychus-citri-in-5d3z1iqhas.pdf

Natural enemies of citrus red mite (panonychus citri) in citrus orchards

Adult and nymphal life stages of the tomato/potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli; TPP) cause damage to the host plants and transmit the bacterial pathogen 'Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum'. This leads to reduced crop yield and ultimately the premature decline and death of the infected plant. The efficacy of 11 insecticides was tested against nymphal and adult stages of TPP. Residues of abamectin + oil and bifenthrin were the most effective at reducing adult TPP up to 3 days after treatment, while thiacloprid, spiromesifen, imidacloprid, spinetoram and azadirachtin were slightly toxic. Residues of buprofezin + oil, pyrethrin + oil and mineral oil had no effect on adult mortality. Nymphal life stages were best controlled with abamectin + oil, spirotetramat, bifenthrin and spiromesifen.

/pdf/efficacy-of-insecticides-against-the-tomato-potato-psyllid-4yj6q0ic78.pdf

Efficacy of insecticides against the tomato/potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli)

New associations and host status: Infestability of kiwifruit by the fruit fly species Bactrocera dorsalis, Zeugodacus cucurbitae, and Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

First-, third-, and fifth-instar Epiphyas postvittana (Walker) were exposed to a range of lufenuron concentrations (0–200 ppm) incorporated into synthetic diet and their subsequent development and mortality responses were determined. For all instars the greatest change in mortality response occurred over lufenuron concentrations ≤3 ppm. However, third and fifth instars displayed an increase in mortality earlier than first instars, and were more sensitive to the lower lufenuron concentrations in this range. Only first and third instars subjected to ≤2.5 ppm lufenuron survived the 26-d exposure trial. No larvae first exposed to lufenuron as first or third instars survived to pupation if ingesting concentrations of ≥1 and ≥3 ppm, respectively. Consumption of lower lufenuron concentrations by these larvae delayed pupation and resulted in pupal deformity. In contrast, fifth instars subjected to 100 ppm were capable of surviving the 26-d trial period and displayed a slower progressive reduction in survival to pupation with increase in lufenuron concentration. Also in contrast to more immature stages, fifth instars exposed to lufenuron developed more rapidly to pupation than larvae not exposed to the insect growth regulator (IGR), and all resulting pupae were normal. Third instars were exposed to sublethal lufenuron concentrations (0–3 ppm) for 4 d and the fourth-instar survivors subjected to a controlled atmosphere cold storage treatment (2% O2, 2% CO2, 0.6°C). Larvae ingesting diet containing 0.5 ppm (and to a lesser extent 1 ppm) lufenuron required longer exposure to the postharvest treatment to achieve ≥95% mortality than larvae not ingesting the IGR. However, the analogous mortality response of larvae exposed to 3 ppm lufenuron was comparable to the control.

Lisa E. Jamieson

Papers

Uraba lugens (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) in New Zealand: pheromone trapping for delimitation and phenology.

Natural enemies of citrus red mite (panonychus citri) in citrus orchards

Efficacy of insecticides against the tomato/potato psyllid (Bactericera cockerelli)

New associations and host status: Infestability of kiwifruit by the fruit fly species Bactrocera dorsalis, Zeugodacus cucurbitae, and Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Pre- and postharvest effects of lufenuron on Epiphyas postvittana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)