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Harmful land snails and slugs are currently one of the most important threats facing agriculture in many parts of the world. Synthetic molluscicides are the main control method against these gastropods. However, dangers caused by these chemicals to the environment have led scientists to research for environmentally friendly alternatives. The objective of our work was to test and evaluate food pellets containing roots, stems, leaves or flowers of Euphorbia helioscopia against Theba pisana and Arion hortensis adults. Toxicity of the prepared pellets varied depending on plant organ and mollusc species tested. Pellets made of stems (LD50 = 1.35 g / 100 ml of agar at 2%) and leaves (LD50 = 1.39 g / 100 ml of 2% agar) proved more toxic to adult snails than those made of roots and flowers, which had no significant effects. In the case of slugs, pellets made of leaves (LD50 = 1.14 g / 100 ml of 2% agar) were more toxic than those made of stems (LD50 = 1.33 g / 100 ml of 2% agar), flowers (LD50 = 1.75 g / 100 ml of 2% agar) and roots (LD50 = 1.98 g / 100 ml of 2% agar). Compared to a synthetic product containing metaldehyde 5%, the results show that the use of these molluscicides derived from plants as pellets is environment- and healthconscious, targeted and economical. These products can be used in plant protection against phytophagous slugs and snails.

To develop eco-friendly alternative control strategies for medfly, mass trapping trials were conducted in the central Morocco during the crop season 2016. Two control methods, mass trapping and the attract-and-kill technique were compared for the control of medfly on two peach varieties ('Rome Star' and 'Ryan Sun') in Sefou district. For mass trapping, 62 traps/1.23 ha of MagnetTM Med type baited with ammonium acetate, trimethylamine, putrescine and 0.01 g of deltamethrin were installed on both varieties. In plots testing the attract-and-kill technique, treatments with malathion in mixture with protein hydrolyzate were applied to straw tuMs attached to branches of the same varieties whenever 1 fly was caught on a Trimedlure trap installed at the center of each plot. The results showed that the number of flies captured by mass trapping reached 508 and 489 adults on 'Rome Star' and 'Ryan Sun', respectively. The average number varied from 1 to 3 adults/trap/day, depending on the date of capture and the variety, and females accounted for 62-100% of total caught flies. In plots protected by the attract-and-kill technique, and taking into account the threshold adopted by the farm, 11 and 15 treatments were carried out respectively on the 'Ryan Sun' and 'Rome Star' varieties. Overall, infestation rates in plots did not exceed 0.3% before or at harvest with mass trapping versus 0.9% with the attract-and-kill technique. On fruit dropped on the ground, the infestation rate did not exceed 4% in mass trapping, compared to 11.5% in the chemically treated plots. Mass trapping was therefore proved to be an effective and eco-friendly tool for managing medfly on peach fruit.