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The Cuban laurel thrips, Gynaikothrips ficorum (Marchal) (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), is widely distributed to the eastern Mediterranean region of Turkey and causing damage to Ficus microcarpa var. nitida plants. Biological control of G. ficorum has a crucial role to maintain the population density of this pest insect at an acceptable level on Ficus trees. For this reason, to determine the potential biological control agents of this pest, survey studies have been done in Adana and Mersin provinces. The Androthrips ramachandarai (Karny) (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), and the Montandoniola indica Yamada (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) were reported for the first time in Turkey in 2020 on G. ficorum that damaging young leaves of the F. microcarpa. Brief diagnoses of G. ficorum and both predatory species were provided. A total of 249 adults of A. ramachandrai and 461 individuals of M. indica were detected in the galled leaves infested with G. ficorum. Moreover, 1959 adults, 1335 immatures and 11851 eggs of G. ficorum were also recorded. There was a positive relationship between pest eggs-A. ramachandrai adults and pest larvae-M. indica adults. Ratios of prey/predatory insects indicated that the predators might have the capability in suppressing the pest thrips on Ficus trees.

The Hawaiian flower thrips, Thrips hawaiiensis (Morgan) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is a polyphagous and widespread pest in tropical and temperate regions. In 2015, T. hawaiiensis was detected in lemon orchards from Turkey. In this study, the seasonal trend, damages in lemon fruit and potential alternative host plants were studied in three lemon orchards from 2018 to 2019. Thrips hawaiiensis density started to increase after petal fall and peaked in mid- or late May. A few T. hawaiiensis adults were collected in mid-June. The highest percentages of scarred fruits were 36% and 28% in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The critical period to control T. hawaiiensis was determined as 3–5 weeks after petal fall. During this period, the fruits are about 2–3 cm in diameter, and are susceptible to the thrips feeding activity.

Aims: This study was aimed at exploring tissue culture technique as a tool for mass propagation of some Cameroonian cocoyam (Xanthosoma sagittifolium) cultivars/landraces (red, yellow and white skin colour). Study Design: The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design with three treatments in four replications. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the tissue culture laboratory of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development, Bambui, Cameroon, in the first half of 2018. Methodology: Explants were gotten from three Cameroonian cocoyam landraces (red, white and yellow skin colour). Shoot tips were excised and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 30 g of sucrose, 5ml of ascorbic acid, 4ml of 6- benzylaminopurine (BAP 1mg/l), 1 ml indole-3- acetic acid (IAA 1 mg/l) and 6 g of agar at pH of 5.8±0.1 for shoot initiation and proliferation. Data was collected after 4 weeks (number dead, number rooted, number of roots, number of buds) and 12 weeks (number of leaves, shoot length, number contaminated) of initiation. Results: All the landraces responded positively to the growth media since none died. The number of explant rooted did not vary significantly (p > .05). The highest number of roots and buds were from the white cultivar, followed by the red cultivar. Analysis of variance revealed significant differences (p = .05) in most of the parameters measured except for number rooted. Highest numbers of leaves and shoot length were recorded from the red cultivar, followed by the yellow and white cultivars. However, the white cultivar (4.2) was more susceptible to pathogen than the yellow (3.5) and red (2.67) cultivar (F = 19.13, df = 2, 8, p < .001. Conclusion: Cameroonian cocoyam cultivars responded positively as far as growth parameters are concern on growth media. It is recommended that the three cocoyam cultivars be followed from growth media to the field and evaluate their growth and yield parameters.

Aims: Maize grains are severely damaged by maize weevil Sitophilus zeamais. Exploiting botanicals against synthetic insecticides as a control strategy has gained prominence in recent decades. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential of cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) to exert some control on S. zeamais. Methodology: Maize and S. zeamais were collected from Muea market in Buea, Cameroon. The maize was heat sterilized and all debris removed. Sitophilus zeamais was reared for three generations before use. Ten S. zeamais were stored with 100 g of maize and 0 g, 2 g, 5 g, and 10 g of shade-dried cypress leaf powder was added in three replicates. Data was collected weekly for 5 weeks and analysis of variance was done. The study was conducted in a laboratory of the Teaching and Research farm in the University of Buea, Cameroon, in a randomized complete design. Results: Mortality of S. zeamais was significantly affected (F = 126.67, df = 3, 8, p < .001) by different doses of cypress leaf powder. The mean mortality was 0%, 40.47%, 50.6% and 70.67% for control, 2 g, 5 g and 10 g of cypress leaf powder, respectively. Grain damaged (%) and holed grain were also influenced by cypress leaf powder. The highest grain damaged and holed grain were from the control treatment. A strong positive correlation (r = 0.814, p < .001) was observed between grain damaged and holed grain while a strong negative correlation was observed between mortality and holed grain (r = -0.926, p < .001), and grain damaged (r = -0.913, p < .001). Conclusion: It is revealed that cypress leaf powder can alter some metabolic activities of S. zeamais, thus it can play a role in an integrated pest management program (IPM) of S. zeamais in maize storage.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the associations of vegetative and reproductive parameters of Irish potato from different organic and inorganic nutrient sources The study was done in the west region of Cameroon, specifically in Bougham, a village in the western highlands. The seeds were sown on the 4th of May 2016. Harvesting was done in August 2016. A total area of 250m2 was cleared and prepared in to a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD). Each block was divided into nine ridges. Eight fertilizer treatments: inorganic (NPK 15:1515, NPK 11:11:22), organic (Pig dropping, Poultry dropping), composite (four bi-combinations of the animal and NPK-based fertilizer) and a control treatment were randomly assigned to each ridge per block. General agronomic practices were adopted from local farmers. Data were collected on vegetative and reproductive parameters. Correlation analysis was also evaluated between parameters. This was followed by principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Principal components were selected based on eigen value criteria – a component was selected if its eigen value was greater than 1. All analyses were done using PAST (ver. 3.26b) Analysis revealed significant correlations between some vegetative and reproductive parameters notably between emergence and plant height (r = 0.45, P < 0.05), emergence and plant harvested (r = 0.867, P < 0.05), and between plant cover and plant height (r = 0.546, P < 0.05). According to the eigen value criteria (eigen value > 1.0), 4 principal components were retained from organic and inorganic nutrient sources each, and 3 principal components were retained from composite nutrient source. Reproductive parameters were more aggregated in the first principal component for organic nutrient source, accounting for 35.87% of all variations while they were more aggregated in the second principal component (25.61%) from inorganic nutrient sources. From the composite nutrient source, the reproductive and vegetative parameters were almost equally distributed between the first (31.80%) and second (27.82%) principal components. In this study, that varied nutrient sources (organic. Inorganic and composite) affects Irish potato differently. Consequently, both organic and inorganic nutrient sources should be seen as synergistic and not mutually exclusive for holistic production of Irish potato.

Chilo partellus Swinhoe 1885 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a serious pest of maize in many parts of the world. It was reported for the first time in 2014 in the Mediterranean part of Turkey. Degree-Day (DD) models were developed to predict seasonal dynamics in maize fields using 3-parameter 'Boltzman' and a 4-parameter Logistic regressions. Larval/plant counts were monitored in pesticide-free maize fields in Adana, Turkey from 2017 to 2019. Depending on the year, the first record of C. partellus was between 03-14 May, corresponding to ~ 9-12 DD accumulated from 01 May. There were two main peaks; one in each of the maize growing seasons. The models accurately predicted the phenology of C. partellus with an Adj. R 2 greater than 0.80. The 'Boltzman' regression had lower AICc, ΔAICc and Wі values than the logistic regression. Based on the 'Boltzman' model, 50% of the accumulated larvae/plant count for the first and second generations (peaks) occurred at 80DD and 375DD, 81DD and 413DD, and 54DD and 289DD in 2017, 2018 and 2019, respectively. For the logistic regression model, 50% of the accumulated larvae/plant counts occurred for the first and second generation at 90DD and 362DD, 62DD, and 45DD and 250DD in 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively. Both these models could play a crucial role in the integrated pest management (IPM) of C. partellus in maize fields in Mediterranean regions.

Chilo partellus Swinhoe, 1885 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), a destructive pest of maize, was recently recorded in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. The pest is considered to be an invasive species, displacing indigenous stem borers in many parts of the world. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of commonly used insecticides in a maize production system in Turkey on egg hatch and mortality of first instar larvae of C. partellus under laboratory conditions (27±2oC, 70% RH and 14:10 h L:D photoperiod) at the Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Cukurova. Eight insecticides registered for indigenous lepidopteran pests were used at the recommended rates. The percentage of hatched egg masses were significantly different. The smallest percentage was 30.6% with deltamethrin. The percentages of hatched egg masses were greater than 80% for all other insecticides. Mortality of hatched larvae was significantly different. The highest and lowest mortalities of hatched larvae were 84.5% and 38.2% with emamectin-benzoate and lambda-cyhalothrin, respectively. Seventy-two h after exposure of the first instar larvae to sprayed maize leaf disks, the lowest and highest mortalities were 62.6% and 96.7% with indoxacarb and emamectin-benzoate, respectively. Survival analyses revealed that hazard ratios ranged from 4.91 (95% CI: 1.66-14.6) to 15.6 (95% CI: 5.33-45.6) with chlorpyrifos-ethyl and emamectin-benzoate, respectively. The mortality of first instar larvae was about 16, 10 and 9 times that of the control with emamectin-benzoate, lambda-cyhalothrin and deltamethrin, respectively. Feeding activity of larval stage was reduced by all treatments. The implications of this study are discussed.

Chilo partellus Swinhoe, 1885 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), su an dunyanin bircok bolgesine yayilmis, orijini Hindistan Yarimadasi ve Guney ve Dogu Afrika olan oldukca zararli bir misir sap kurdudur. Turkiye’de ilk kez 2014 yilinda saptanmistir. Bu zararlinin kontrolunde genellikle insektisit kullanilmaktir. Surekli insektisit kullaniminin olumsuz etkileriyle ilgili endiseler daha cevre dostu ve dogal kontrol yontemlerinin arastirilmasini gerektirmistir. Bu calisma ile C. partellus ’un mevcut yerli parazitoitlerinin varligi ve parazitleme oranlari arastirilmistir. 2018 yilinda Cukurova Universitesi, Bitki Koruma Bolumu, Arastirma ve Uygulama Alani (39o01’50.5"N, 35o21’06.7"E)’nda birinci ve ikinci urun olarak yetistirilen misir tarlalarinda haftada bir defa orneklemeler yapilmis ve parazitlenmis yumurtalar kaydedilmistir. Morfolojik karakterler incelenerek Trichogramma evanescens Westwood, 1833 (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) olarak tanimlanan yumurta parazitoitinin, 2018 Agustos- Eylul aylarinda ilk kez misirda C. partellus ’un parazitoiti olarak kaydedildigi ve 16 Agustos’ta parazitlenme oraninin %100 oldugu belirlenmistir. Trichogramma evanescens ’in gelecekte C. partellus ’un biyolojik mucadele programlarinda kullanilabilecegi dusunulmektedir .

In this study, the effect of full (IR100), 50% (IR50), 75% (IR75) and 125% (IR125) irrigation levels on population development of the carmine spider mite (CSM) as well as on yield and some pomological properties of ‘Fortuna’ strawberry cultivar grown in high tunnels were evaluated in two consecutive growing seasons (2016–2017 and 2017–2018). The numbers of CSM were significantly lower on strawberry leaves which were irrigated by IR50 and IR75 in both growing seasons. Full (IR100) and highest (IR125) irrigation levels were the most favorable for the development of CSM populations. On the other hand, in the CSM thriving period (2017), the fruit weight was generally high in the plots with the highest irrigation (IR125) level. Although there was no interaction with the CSM population, fruit acidity (%) increased in the IR100 and IR125 irrigation levels, possibly due to stress in plants, when CSM population was highest (in March). In the absence of CSM, fruit acidity was significantly high in the plots where water stress was experienced. While no significant interaction was found between the pomological characters and the CSM population, the mites affected the yield significantly in that plants were more productive under IR 75 even when there was a CSM population. This study suggests that the application of IR75 level in Fortuna strawberry is related to lower CSM population growth and significantly higher yields.

Aims: This study was conducted to enhance germplasm conservation of some indigenous plantain landraces through tissue culture techniques in Cameroon. Study Design: The experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design (CRD) with three treatments in four replications. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted in the tissue culture laboratory of the Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD), Bambui, Cameroon, in the first half of 2018. Methodology: Explants were gotten from three plantain land races (Kwah, Ngumbe and Sangmoh) gotten from Bambui. Shoot tips were excised and cultured on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 30 g of sucrose, 5 ml of ascorbic acid, 4 ml of 6- benzylaminopurine (BAP 1 mg/l), 1 ml indole-3- acetic acid (IAA 1 mg/l) and 6 g of agar at pH of 5.8±0.1 for shoot initiation and proliferation. Data was collected over a period of 12 weeks every 4th week on the average number of buds, shoot length, number of leaves, number contaminated and number dead. Results: All the landraces responded positively to shoot tip culture, since they could adapt and regenerate by producing buds with Ngumbe giving the highest mean number (7.0) of buds and Sangmoh giving the lowest (3.0). Analysis of variance revealed significant differences (p = 0.05) in most of the parameters measured except for number contaminated. High dead rate was recorded in Kwah with dead mean of 3.0. Ngumbe was found to regenerate better than Kwah and Sangmoh. Conclusion: It is recommended that the three plantain landraces, germplasm be conserved. The ramification of this finding vis-à-vis germplasm conservation and increase productivity is explained.

Aims: This work aimed at establishing the different Garden crop pests and how farmers use different pesticides to manage these pests. Place and duration of the Work: This work was carried out in Santa from January to March 2013 Methodology: The methodology involved the use of structured questionnaires which were administered to 120 farmers to obtain information on demographics, constraints to successful crop production, general farm system and agronomic practices, knowledge of insect pest problems, types of pesticides used, dosage and rate of application, and different pests crops suffered from. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square test. Results: The study indicates that majority of market gardeners in Santa community are males (70%) with ages from 30-39 and most of them are married (76%). Famers worked with relied on pesticides for pest control and did not dispose of empty pesticide containers properly such as throwing on the farm; use as drinking bowls and returned it to the pesticide vendors. Conclusion: This study provides valuable information on the pesticides used in pests and diseases control in vegetable production and health symptoms like stomach disorders, burns, and catarrh experienced by gardeners. A majority (94%) of farmers suffered from serious insect pest attacks on their farms and the most important pest was the cutworm (Agrotis ipsilon) which affected (65%). A majority (96%) of farmers also reported diseases attacks with late blight (Phytophthora infestans) affecting more than four-fifth (81%) of the farms especially in the rainy season.

Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is an important legume for food and income for smallholder farmers all over the world. Pests such as bean stem maggot BSM (Ophiomyia phaseoli) and bean foliage beetle BFB (Ootheca mutabilis) pose a serious challenge to production. Many practices have been employed to manage these pests. However, little or no emphasis has been on basic agronomic practices such as plant spacing as a tool for pest management. In the present study, the role of plant orientation (plant spacing) on the activities and population dynamics of BSM and BFB was examined in a pesticide-free field trial in Bamenda, Cameroon from March to July, 2020. Different plant orientations namely 15cm x 15cm (~442500 plants/ha), 20cm x 20cm (~250000 plants/ha), 30cm x 30cm (~110000 plants/ha) and 40cm x 40cm (~62500 plants/ha) were test in a randomized complete block design with 4 replicates. Data was collected on oviposition holes on leaves of common bean by BSM, BSM population dynamics, leaf damage score by BFB, and population dynamics of BFB. The number of oviposition holes, the mean cumulative number of BSM, the mean leaf damage scores and the mean cumulative number of BFB were significantly higher (P < .05) in dense plots (15cm x 15cm) than in the other plots. The activity of BSM and BFM increased over time. The Principal Component Analysis revealed that the first two components accounted for 99.17% of the variation. Linear discriminant analysis with Mahalanobus distances with an 87.5% cross-validation by Jacknife procedure revealed that spatial orientation of 20cm x 20cm and 30cm x 30cm were very similar and significantly (F = 99.27, df = 3, 12, P < .001) different from the others. For pest management purposes, plant orientations of 20cm x 20cm and 30cm x 30cm can be recommended since they recorded low BSM and BFB activity. For future perspective, it is important assess the effect of different plant orientation on yield and pest parameters concurrently.

The Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is one of the most important pests of stored products, especially damaging cereals. Besides pest status, its eggs and larvae are commonly used for mass rearing of many natural enemies. Different diets are suggested for the production of E. kueniella, but the influence of diet supplements, such as yeast and glycerine on the performance of E. kuehniella diets are not clearly understood. In the present study, we investigated the effects of several diet ingredients on some major biological parameters of E. kuehniella. Ten diets based on different combinations of wheat flour, cornmeal, wheat bran, glycerine and yeast were tested in the experiments. Twenty eggs of E. kuehniella were added into 5 g of each diet within separate plastic cylindrical containers (5 cm height × 3 cm diameter) and incubated in climate rooms at 25 ± 1 °C and 60 ± 10 Relative Humidity (R.H) on a 14 h light: 10 h dark photoperiod. Pupal weight, developmental period, emergence ratio, fecundity and fertility were determined. The diet containing wheat flour, wheat bran, glycerine and yeast in a percentage of 53.33, 26.67, 15 and 5%, respectively, resulted in shorter development time and higher fertility, and could be used as an alternative to the standard diets currently used in insectaries.