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Taxonomic identification and classifications of insect pest genera Chrysodeixis and Ctenoplusia of the subfamily Plusiinae is very compulsory due to their phytophagous nature and potential to damage the cash as well as cereal crops. Taxonomy plays a key role in proper not only in identification and classification of the pest but also in designing a successful managing strategy. In current study, specimens of Chrysodeixis and Ctenoplusia genera were collected from different geographical areas of south Punjab, Pakistan and their diagnostic features were examined following taxanomic keys. The data of temperature, relative humidity and rainfall were also recorded during the study period. Genitalia was extracted by dissecting of the abdomen and inspected under Stereo microscope. The results revealed two new species, Chryodeixis maxus and Ctenoplusia oleraceaus, from south Punjab region in addition to previously reported species: Chrysodeixis furihatai. Suitable management of the voracious insect pest at appropriate time may help in sustaining the agriculture in Pakistan.

Insect pests not only damaged field crops during the growing season, but also injured stored grain and stored food commodities. The development of substitute treatments for pest control in food products is an increasing demand from the food industry, which should meet consumer demands for the minimum use or elimination of pesticides. Modified atmospheres with higher concentrations of atmospheric gases, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) provide a cost-effective method to kill pests of stored products. CO2 is one of the hastiest option for arthropods control among latest commercial treatments, proposing complete control within hours. In present study aimed to determine the efficacy of CO2 against different stages of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) that affect stored-food products. Different levels of the carbon dioxide like 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45% were used to protect the different flours such as chickpea, wheat, peanuts, porridge, rice and maize from the larvae and adult of red flour beetle under laboratory conditions at 27 ± 2 °C with Light (L): Dark (D) 12: 12, and 65 ± 5% relative humidity. Results showed that mortality increased with the increase of concentration CO2 level.

Drought stress constricts crop production in the world. Increasing human population and predicted temperature increase owing to global warming will lead ruthless problems for agricultural production in near future. Hence, use of high yielding genotypes having drought tolerance and scrutinize of drought sensitive local cultivars for making them tolerant may be the proficient approaches to cope its detrimental outcomes. The current study was executed during 20015-2016 and 2016-2017 in field using randomized complete block design under factorial arrangements on 50 wheat genotypes for exploring their sensitivity and tolerance against drought. Some of the attributes of grain yield and drought tolerance indices were recorded. Grain yield showed negative correlations with tolerance index (TOL), drought index (DI) and stress susceptibility index (SSI) while positive correlation with mean productivity (MP) and geometric mean productivity (GMP) under drought condition. These findings depicted that tolerant genotypes could be chosen by high MP and GMP values and low SSI and TOL values. Based on the results, genotypes GA-02, Faisalabad-83, 9444, Sehar-06, Pirsabak-04 and Kohistan-97 were more tolerant and recognized as suitable for both normal and drought conditions. Genotypes of Chenab-00, Kohsar-95, Parwaz-94 and Kohenoor-83 confirmed more sensitive due to high grain yield loss under drought stress.

Species belonging to genus, Thysanoplusia Fabricius of the subfamily Plusiinae which are polyphagous in nature and pest of vegetables, foods, legumes, fodder, fruits, ornamental plants and cotton crops. Samples were collected from different localities of district Bahawalpur. For collection, comprehensive and comparative surveys were carried out during 2017–18 on taxonomic account of species of the genus Thysanoplusia Fabricius and resulted identified one species Thysanoplusia orichalcea (Fabricius) first time from Pakistan. Morphological characters viz., vertex, frons, labial palpi, antennae, compound eyes, ocelli, proboscis, wing venation, male and female genital characteristics were used for the identification and classification. Dichotomous keys and photographs are also provided. There is hardly any substantial research work on taxonomic studies of subfamily Plusiinae Pakistan. So to fill this gap the present proposal was designed to study the diversity of Noctuid moths from Pakistan and very fruitful results have been obtained. Keywords: Diagnostic feature, Noctuid Moth, Genitalia, Bahawalpur

Ficus benjamina is an important ornamental plant in many countries of the world. Recently, this plant is attacked by a lepidopteran insect pest known as Trilocha varians (Bombucidae: Lepidoptera) in Pakistan. This pest eats the leaves making the plant unaesthetic. In the current study, toxicity of four insecticides (deltamethrin, chlorantraniliprole, fipronil and emamectin benzoate) was evaluated against T. varians. Different concentrations of these insecticides were prepared in distilled water and 3rd instar larvae were exposed using leaf dip bioassay method. The results showed that deltamethrin was more toxic to T. varians followed by emamectin benzoate, fipronil, and chlorantraniliprole. The LC50 of deltamethrin after 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 h were 18.04, 16.67, 5.74, 2.46, and 1.79 ppm respectively. The results will be useful for management of T. varians. Keywords: Chlorantraniliprole, Deltamethrin, Fipronil, Ficus, Ornamental plant

Plutella xylostella L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) is an important pest causing significant losses to vegetables worldwide. Insecticides resistance in P. xylostella is a serious issue for scientists since last 30 years. However, deltamethrin and Bt Cry1Ac are commonly used insecticides against P. xylostella but studies involving development of resistance in P. xylostella against these two insecticides at different temperatures are lacking. The current study was aimed to find out the toxicity of deltamethrin and Bt Cry1Ac, and resistance development in P. xylostella. Results showed that the positive correlation between the temperature and toxicities of deltamethrin and Bt Cry1Ac. The results indicated −0.051, −0.049, −0.047, and −0.046 folds of deltamethrin resistance at 15 °C, 20 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C temperatures, respectively from 1st to 12th generations. The toxicity of Bt Cry1Ac after 24 h was 2.2 and 4.8 folds on 1st generation at 20 °C and 25 °C temperatures, respectively compared to the toxicity recorded at 15 °C (non-overlapping of 95% confidence limits). Based on the results of this study, it is concluded that the temperature has a positive correlation with the toxicity of deltamethrin and Bt Cry1Ac against the larvae of P. xylostella. This study suggests that deltamethrin and Bt Cry1Ac can be included in the management program of P. xylostella on many vegetable crops. The baseline susceptibility data might be helpful to understand the resistance mechanisms in P. xylostella. Keywords: Bt Cry1Ac, Deltamethrin, Diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, Temperature coefficient

Different temperature zones have significant impact on the population dynamics of Plutella xylostella. Effective management of P. xylostella requires the knowledge of temperature tolerance by different life stages. In the current study, fitness parameters of diamondback moth were reported by using age-stage, two-sex life table traits at four constant temperatures (15, 20, 25 and 30 °C). The life cycle of P. xylostella was significantly longer at 15 °C. The 20 °C level of temperature was found optimal for fecundity, gross reproductive rate (51.74 offspring) and net reproductive rate (44.35 offspring per individual). The adult pre-oviposition period was statistically at par at all four level of temperatures. However, the survival was maximum at 20 °C as compared to other three temperature ranges. Based on the current study, it was concluded that temperature has a great role in population build-up of P. xylostella and effective management tactics should be applied to prevent significant damage to cabbage and other cruciferous crops when the temperature in the field is near 20 °C. Keywords: Age-stage, Plutella xylostella, Lepidoptera, Temperature, Life table

Red cotton bug, Dysdercus koenigii (Hemiptera: Pyrrhocoridae), has become the major insect pest of various crops, including cotton, and thereby reducing the yield qualitatively and quantitatively and synthetic insecticides belonging to different groups are the major control agents for such insect pests. A laboratory experiment was carried out to evaluate the effect of different conventional insecticides, i.e., imidacloprid, deltamethrin, lambda cyhalothrin, gamma cyhalothrin and cyfluthirn on haemocytes of D. koenigii. The individuals were exposed to insecticides separately and data was recorded after 30 and 60 min of the exposure. The findings of current study depicted chlorpyrifos to be more effective and significant alterations in total haemocyte counts and differential haemocyte counts were observed in the cyfluthirn treated D. koenigii. In addition to this, cell structure was also disrupted as an immune response. Similar studies would also be helpful to understand the defence mechanisms of insects against the xenobiotics which will help to device efficient management tools for D. koenigii.

In this study, we evaluated the potential of fungal endophytes to control yellow rust in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) as endophytes are beneficial microbes and alternate to pesticides for confronting pathogens. The in-vitro efficacy of the fungal endophytes isolated from different desert plants was evaluated and the best four namely Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, Piriformospora indica, Acremonium lolii and Trichoderma viride were selected. Seeds of two susceptible wheat genotypes namely Fareed-06 and Shafaq-06 obtained from screening experiment were inoculated by dipping in four endophytic spore suspensions and were sown using randomized complete block design under factorial arrangement. Data concerning about area under disease progress curve, final disease severity percentage, coefficient of infection,1000- grains weight and grain yield were recorded. Results showed that endophyte P. indica showed significant decrease in final disease severity (FDS) and area under disease progress curve (AUDPC), resultantly 12.2% grain yield gain in rust susceptible wheat genotypes of Fareed-06 and Shafaq-06 followed by the endophytes T. viride, C. lindemuthianum and A. lolii with the grain yield gain of 10.6%, 06.2% and 04.2% respectively. In crux, fungal endophytes are valuable microbes which can be employed to induce tolerance against P. striiformis in yellow rust vulnerable areas for better and sustainable wheat production.

Indian siris, Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. (Fabaceae: Mimosoideae) has significant importance to human beings for its multipurpose use. Insects play a crucial role in the pollination biology of flowering plants. In the current study, we studied the pollination biology of A. lebbeck with special reference to insect floral visitors. The effectiveness of floral visitors was investigated in term of visitation frequency, visitation rate and pollen load during 2012 and 2013. In the second experiment, effect of pollinators on yield of A. lebbeck was studied in open and cage pollination experiments. Floral visitor fauna of A. lebbeck included eight-bees, two wasps, two flies, and two butterflies species. Among them, Apis dorsata, Apis florea, Amegilla cingulata, and Nomia oxybeloides had maximum abundance ranging from 349–492, 339–428, 291–342 and 235–255 numbers of individuals, respectively during two flowering seasons. A. dorsata had the highest visitation frequency (6.44 ± 0.49–8.78 ± 0.48 visits/flower/5min) followed by Amegilla cingulata (6.03 ± 0.43–7.99 ± 0.33 visits/flower/5min) and A. florea (3.61 ± 0.31–4.44 ± 0.18 visits/flower/5min). A. dorsata, N. oxybeloides, and Amegilla cingulata had the highest visitation rates (18.904 ± 1.53–11.43 ± 1.17 flower visited/min) and pollen load (15333 ± 336.22–19243 ± 648.45 pollen grains). The open pollinated flowers had significantly higher capsule weight (4.97 ± 0.21 g), seed weight (1.04 ± 0.05 g), seed numbers per pod (9.80 ± 0.34) and seed germination percentage (84.0 ± 1.78%) as compared to caged flowers. The results suggested bees especially A. dorsata, N. oxybeloides and Amegilla cingulata could be effective pollinators of A. lebbeck. Keywords: Bees, Floral visitors, Open pollination, Visitation frequency, Visitation rate

Natural plants extract for antimicrobial of textile finishing is a vital and potential area of current and future aspects therefore has greater market value. Cotton has long been recognized as media to support the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi. Among all the natural antimicrobial agents the plant products comprise the major segment. The objective of this work was to investigate the antibacterial properties of Aloe Vera leaf gel extract on cotton, also its effects on the performance parameters of fabric. Softness properties were also imparted on the fabric as it is the inherit property of Aloe Vera leaf gel. Best antimicrobial properties were achieved by pad dry method with high concentrations as compared to coating method. The softness of pad-dry samples was prominent against coated fabric. Whiteness Index decreased less in pad-dry as compared to coated samples.

In present research assessment of disease incidence was made between Bt and Non-Bt cotton against bacterial blight disease. Experiment was carried out in natural environmental conditions on twenty eight varieties/advance lines. Findings of the experiments depicted more disease incidence on Non-Bt varieties viz., Non Bt-FH 901 (41.7-43.4%), Non Bt-MNH 496 (47.6-49.5%), Non Bt-FH 1000 (48.6-51.2%), Non Bt-FH 207 (54.5-57.5%), Non BT-N 112 (54.7-56.3%), Non BT-FH 942 (55.7-59.5%), Non BT-MNH 6070 (61.5-64.7%), Non Bt-FH 941 (63.4-61.6%), Non BT-N 814 (70.4-71.3%), Non Bt-FH 900 (74.7-77.4%), Non Bt-ANMOL (74.8-76.8%), Non Bt-FH 2015 (78.5-80.6%), Non BT REDACOLA (81.5-79.6%) and Non BT-C 26 (83.3-85.6%) while BT varieties BT-S-78 (25.8-26.7%), BT-Z-33 (26.7-22.2%), BT-786 (28.6-31.5%), BT-A-ONE (28.8-26.5%), BT-282 (30.5-27.6%), BT-886 (33.5-35.3%), BT-3701 (38.3-36. %), BT-SPECIAL (38.4-34.6%), BT-802 (41.3-43.4%), BT-92 (41.4-44.4%), BT-131 (43.8-41.7%), BT-905 (44.6-42.3%), BT-SUPPER (45.6-46.8%) and BT-121 (48.6-52.4%) showed decreased response respectively. Hence, concluded that difference/variability in the resistant sources is present in Pakistan against the disease among BT varieties as compared to Non-Bt.