mostafa maroufpoor

False chinch bug (Nysius cymoides (Hem: Lygaeidae)) is one of the most important pests of canola in Iran and causes  significant damage to this crop annually. In order to evaluate the resistance of canola cultivars to this pest, 12 cultivars included Arshitect, Okapi, Nafis, Atura, Nima, Gabriella, Koodiak, Garo, Brotus, Rohan, Deffusion, and Traviana were studied in a completely randomized design in the research farm of the Faculty of Agriculture of Kurdistan University in 2020 and 2021 years.  In this study several parameters related to the false chinch bugs (Weight and population density of the pest) and several plant parameters (secondary branches number, diameter of the main branch, pod length, flowering branch length, seeds number per pod, 1000 seed weight and seed yield) were evaluated. The results of data analysis showed that there was significant difference between cultivars in terms of some parameters including seed weight, plant length, pod length, number of seeds per pod, 1000 seed weight, and yield at a 5% probability level. Also according to the multivariate analysis of variance, there was no significant difference between the type of trap and the type of cultivar, but there was a significant difference between the types of traps. In total, using cluster analysis by Ward's method and based on Euclidean distance, 12 studied cultivars were divided into four groups: resistant, semi-resistant, susceptible, and semi-susceptible.

In recent years, the utilization of biocontrol agents for agriculture pests has received more attention, which has led to a growth in companies producing biocontrol agents, including predators and parasites. One of the phenomena that should be taken into consideration in the evaluation of the efficiency and selection of natural enemies is the predation rate and the effects of temperature on this characteristic of predators. As part of predatory communities in the greenhouse, Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot is currently used worldwide as a biological control agent against small insects and various mites, particularly to suppress the population of the two-spotted spider mite (TSSM), Tetranychus urticae Koch is used. To improve the mass rearing of this species and optimize its use in integrated pest management, in this research, the predation capacity of this mite was investigated in the control of the two-spotted spider mite at three constant temperatures 17, 22, and 27(±1)°C, 70-80% RH and a photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) h in the laboratory. In this study, adult mites were used and each adult mite was fed with a certain number of adult mites. The transformation rate from prey population to predator offspring (Qp) on TSSM at temperatures of 17, 22, and 27 were calculated as 7.71, 10.12, and 8.47 respectively, which indicates the upper limit of controlling this pest at 22°C. According to the results of the present research, these species can have effective control of the two-spotted spider mite in a wide temperature range, and this can be considered in their release in the greenhouse.

Potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) is one of the major pests of potatoes in most countries, including Iran. In this research, contact and fumigation toxicity, repellency and ovicidal activities of resin essential oil of Pistacia atlantica were investigated on first and fifth instar larvae and potato tuber moth eggs under laboratory conditions The results showed that fumigant toxicity (LC50) on the larvae of the first and five instar were, respectively 0.061 and 0.115 μl per liter of air after 48 hours. In addition, the LC50 obtained from the contact toxicity study of the resin essential oil on the first and fifth instar larvae of potato tuber moth after 48 hours was 0.051 and 0.051 microliters per square centimeter respectively. Further on, ovicidal toxicity (LC50) of the resin essential oil was obtained 0.47 μl / cm2 after 4 days. The results of the repellency test showed the repellent effect of the resin essential oil in the first larvae was more than the instar of five, and its effect decreased with increasing time..

The Mediterranean flour moth, Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) and the cowpea weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus (Fabricius) rank among the most destructive pests in food processing facilities worldwide. Ephestia kuehniella and C. maculatus may live in the same store simultaneously. To provide a comprehensive ecological based and cost effective control program, the life history and demographic parameters of the both stored product pests were studied at 25 ± 1°C, 60 ± 5% RH, and 16L:8D hours photoperiod. Moreover, population growth potential of the pests compared based on population projection. Life history and demographic parameters of both pests were analyzed using the age-stage, two-sex life table theory. The results revealed that E. kuehniella had longer immature developmental time, shorter adult longevity, shorter reproduction period, higher fecundity, higher net reproduction rate, and lower intrinsic rate of increase in comparison with the cowpea weevil. The obtained results have been discussed in terms of developing appropriate management strategies against both pests in the storage.

The most important contamination of flour and wheat silos, are pests that damage them both quantitatively and qualitatively. Wheat stored in ticks infected with increasing heat and humidity is reduced wheat quality. In this study, a faunistic survey of flour and wheat mites during 2015 from different cities of Kurdistan province was conducted. During this study, 11 species of Trombidiformes, Sarcoptiformes and Mesostigmata belonging to nine families and 6 genera, were identified. All of them are new records for Kurdistan Province mite fauna. Among them, Erythraeussouthcotti(Goldarazena and Zhang, 1998) considered to be new records for mite fauna of Iran. The most abundant predator and pest mites were Cheyletus malaccensis (Oudemans) (Cheyletidae) and Rhizoglyphus echinopus (Fumouze & Robin) (Acaridae), respectively. The list of identified species is as follows:
Acaridae
Acarus siro Linnaeus, 1758
Rhizoglyphus echinopus (Fumouze & Robin, 1868)
Tyrophagus putrescentiae Schrank, 1781
Cheyletidae
Acaropsis sollers (Kuzin, 1940)
Cheyletus malaccensis Oudemans, 1903
Cheyletus eruditus (Schrank, 1781)
Blattisociidae
Blattisocius keegani Fox, 1947
Dermanyssidae
Liponyssoides sanguineus (Hirst, 1914)
Laelapidae
Pneumolaelaps lubrica (Voigts & Oudemans, 1904)
Erythraeidae
ErythraeusshojaiiSaboori and Babolmorad, 2000
ErythraeussouthcottiGoldarazena and Zhang, 1998

Erythraeus (Zaracarus) coleopterus Mortazavi, Hajiqanbar & Saboori, 2012 (Acari: Parasitengona: Erythraeidae) was described based on a single specimen from Kerman province, southeastern Iran, associated with a scarabaeid beetle, Cyphonoxia sp. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). This species reports for the second time from stored grain (off host) in Saqqez and Baneh cities, Kurdistan province, western Iran and presents new morphological data. Finding some specimens help us to augment and correct the original description of E. (Z.) coleopterus. A key to world larval species group of Erythraeus (Zaracarus) is presented which is modified and corrected from Mahmoudi et al. (2014).

The predation rate and prey preference is essential in the selection and efficiency of appropriate combinations of beneficial species for biological control. Amblyseius swirskii is a phytoseiid mite that feeds on many species of small arthropods as well as pollen grains. In the present study, predation capacity of this mite in control of Tetranychus urticae and Phyllocoptes adalius as two serious pests in greenhouse were studied under laboratory conditions. The experiments, were conducted at 25± 0.5˚C, 70-75% RH and photoperiod of 16:8 (L: D) and adults were introduced in Manger cages. For quantification of the daily predation rate, 10 and 20 individuals of the tetranychus and eriophid were supplied to the adult of A. swirskii, respectively. The average predation rate (C0) on eriophid and tetranychus mites was 183 and 420 mite, respectively that shows a high rate of predation on the pest population. The maximum consumption was recorded for the adult female during the oviposition period. Results suggest that A. swirskii is able to feed on both prey mites and could be used for biological control of these pests.

The life table parameters of Neoseiulus californicus (Athias-Henriot), a generalist predator of spider mites and small insects were investigated in laboratory condition at two constant temperatures: 20 and 25°C, 60 ± 5% relative humidity and a photoperiod of 16:8 h (L:D). The European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch), an important pest of apple orchards in Iran, was used as prey (all stages). The duration of the immature stages ranged varied from 7.52 to 5.12 days, at 20 and 25°C, respectively. The net reproductive rate (R0) increased with increasing temperature from 20.84 female offspring to 31.46 female offspring at 20–25°C, respectively. The values of the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ) were obtained to be highest at 25°C (0. 237 day –1 and 1.26 day–1, respectively), which was greater that those estimated at 20°C (0.161 day–1 and 1.17 day–1, respectively). The mean generation time (T) decreased with increasing temperature from 18.86 days to 14.45 days at 20–25°C, respectively. In conclusion, results showed that N. californicus would be able to develop at temperatures range of 20–25°C feeding on P. ulmi and has the suitable potential to control it.