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Chagas disease, a neglected global health concern primarily transmitted through the bite and feces of kissing bugs, has garnered increasing attention due to recent outbreaks in northern Brazil, highlighting the role of oral transmission facilitated by the kissing bugs species Rhodnius robustus and Rhodnius pictipes. These vectors are associated with palm trees with large crowns, such as the maripa palm (Attalea maripa) and moriche palm (Mauritia flexuosa). In this study, we employ maximum entropy (MaxEnt) ecological niche models to analyze the spatial distribution of these vectors and palm species, predicting current and future climate suitability. Our models indicate broader potential habitats than documented occurrences, with high suitability in northern South America, southern Central America, central Africa, and southeast Asia. Projections suggest increased climate suitability by 2040, followed by a reduction by 2080. This study identifies present and future areas suitable for kissing bugs and palm tree species due to climate change, aiding in the design of prevention and management strategies., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Raul Narciso Carvalho Guedes reports financial support was provided by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico. Raul Narciso Carvalho Guedes reports a relationship with National Council of Scientific and Tecnological Development (CNPq) that includes: funding grants. Raul Narciso Carvalho Guedes reports a relationship with Coordination of Higher Education Personnel Improvement that includes: funding grants. Raul Narciso Carvalho Guedes reports a relationship with Minas Gerais State Foundation of Support to the Research that includes: funding grants. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Leucoptera coffeella (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae) is one of the main pests in coffee crops. The economic injury level (EIL) is the lowest density of the pest at which economic damages match the costs of control measures. The economic threshold (ET) is the density of the pest at which control measures must be taken so that this population does not reach the EIL. These are the main indices used for pest control decision-making. Control of L. coffeella is carried out by manual, tractor, airplane or drone applications. This work aimed to determine EILs and ETs for L. coffeella as a function of insecticide application technology in conventional and organic Coffea arabica crops. Data were collected over five years in commercial C. arabica crops on seven 100 ha central pivots. The cost of control in organic crops was 16.98% higher than conventional. The decreasing order of control cost was manual > drone > airplane > tractor application. Coffee plants were tolerant to low densities (up to 15% mined leaves) of the pest that caused losses of up to 6.56%. At high pest densities (54.20% mined leaves), losses were high (85.62%). In organic and conventional crops and with the use of different insecticide application technologies, EIL and ET were similar. The EIL and ET were 14% and 11% of mined leaves, respectively. Therefore, these indices can be incorporated in integrated pest management programs in C. arabica crops. The indices determined as a function of insecticide application technology in organic and conventional coffee are important as they serve producers with different technological levels. Additionally, EILs and ETs can contribute to more sustainable production, as control methods will only be employed when the pest density reaches these indices., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to publish the results.

The diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lep.: Plutellidae), is an important pest of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. var. italica Plenck). Few studies have focused on the real DBM impact on broccoli yield. We performed greenhouse studies to assess the effect of DBM densities and infestation timing (at pre-heading, heading, or during the entire cycle) on broccoli head weight. Polynomial trend analysis revealed a downward linear response of head weight to DBM densities, indicating that broccoli is susceptible to DBM attack. As for the infestation timing, infestations during the pre-heading stage significantly impacted head weight, whereas the same did not occur for infestations during the heading stage. DBM density did not affect plant height or total leaves but was upward-related to plant defoliation, and head weight correlated negatively with plant defoliation. These findings indicate that pre-heading is the determining stage for head weight loss of plants under DBM attack. In order to prevent quantitative losses, efforts for DBM management should be focused on this particular stage.