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Simple Summary: This study evaluated the effectiveness of various attractants, including phagostimulants alone or combined with other chemicals, in attracting both male and female Bactrocera zonata in laboratory and field experiments. Different mixtures of natural fruit extracts and synthetic attractants were tested to find the most effective combination for trapping B. zonata. The results indicated that a specific combination (phagostimulant-AdMixture-4) was particularly effective, showing strong attraction capabilities in both laboratory and field settings. These findings were significant and suggested a potential new method for managing fruit fly populations, which are a major cause of fruit damage and economic loss in different fruit orchards. The implementation of such attractant systems could reduce the need for chemical pesticides, offering an eco-friendly and sustainable solution to pest control in different fruit production systems. This advancement holds promise not only for increasing the yield and quality of fruit but also for supporting safer and more sustainable agricultural practices. Laboratory and field assays of three sets of experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of different phagostimulants alone and in combination with other phagostimulant lure sources, such as ammonium acetate, DAP, and acetic acid, on the attractancy of both sexes of B. zonata. In the first experiment, the laboratory olfactometer study revealed that out of eleven phagostimulants, banana, mulberry, mango, guava, molasses, and protein hydrolysate exhibited moderate attractancy (15.2–60.2%) to B. zonata. Unexpectedly, banana and protein hydrolysate were demonstrated to be highly attractive phagostimulants for starved female B. zonata (53.6% and 60.2%, respectively). In the field study, none of the tested phagostimulants exhibited high attractancy; however, banana, mulberry, protein hydrolysate, guava, mango, and molasses demonstrated moderate attractancy (5.6–35.6%) to B. zonata. In the second experiment, out of five phagostimulant-mixtures, phagostimulant-mixture-4 proved highly attractive (40.5–68.6% and 45.5–51.2%), followed by phagostimulant-mixture-3, which proved to be moderately attractive (17.0–22.5% and 28.4–36.1%) to B. zonata in olfactometer and field studies, respectively. In the third experiment, out of five phagostimulant-AdMixtures, phagostimulant-AdMixture-4 demonstrated strong attractiveness in the olfactometer (41.6–68.7%) and field studies (52.7–58.7%) for B. zonata, while the rest of the AdMixtures demonstrated moderate to no attractiveness for B. zonata. So, phagostimulant-AdMixture-4 with GF-120 could be used in the development of a phagostimulant bait station which attracts the maximum B. zonata population and ultimately provides pest-free fruits to the farmers [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice is best known as a staple food for half of the world's population. Brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) is a serious insect pest of rice crops throughout Asia. In case of a severe attack, the whole crop turns brown called 'hopperburn' and farmers face great yield losses. The experiments were performed to evaluate the planting geometry and nutritional effects on N. lugens abundance and yield attributes of the crop using susceptible rice (var. Basmati 515). Results indicated that planting geometries with more space (60 and 90 cm) after 12 lines with a uniform number of plants in each plot had less incidence of N. lugens as compared to narrow spaced (0 and 30 cm) geometries. More number of N. lugens nymphs (80.0-95.0 number/plant) were recorded with less spaced planting geometry as compared to higher spaced planting geometry (27.0-29.5 numbers/plant) during both years. With different planting geometry, no significant difference was recorded in the agronomic parameters except yield and 1000 grain weight. The highest yield was recorded in a plot with 90 cm path followed by 60, 30 and 0cm path, respectively. Towards different doses of nitrogen and phosphorus on N. lugens, the higher dose of nitrogen had a significant effect on N. lugens nymph survival, adult emergence and survival, while the phosphorus induced a non-significant effect. Therefore, in the absence of N. lugens resistant variety, ecological manipulation and nutrients availability could be a better strategy for shortterm N. lugens management in organic rice production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice leaffolder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée), is one of the most destructive and key pests of rice in Asian countries. Effective insecticides are available to cope with this pest, but this solution is not a long-term strategy because of apprehensions about health and environmental hazards, exposure risks, residual perseverance and development of resistance. So there is a need to find out an alternate practice for the management of this pest. Pest damage may be reduced through the proper management of nutrients requirements and modifications with mineral nutrients such as Silicon (Si). In this experiment, Si amendments, at the rate of 1.25 and 2.50 g Sikg-1 soil were applied under controlled conditions to investigate the resistance impact on developmental stages and food consumption rate of C. medinalis. Results indicated that Si addition at both low and high levels to rice plant significantly extended the larval development and reduced survival rate of both larvae and pupae. Si amendments reduced larval and pupae weight as compared to control treatment. However, the consumption of green matter increased in Si treated plants by 3rd instar larvae of C. medinalis. Results also showed that enhanced Si level in rice plants reduces food quality and increases plant resistance to the C. medinalis in rice variety. This study concluded that Si fertilizers may play an effective role in C. medinalis management for rice crop protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]