Abstract This study assessed the dynamics of mosquito larval populations and species diversity in paddy fields in Alappuzha district, Kerala, and investigated the pesticide resistance of Culex tritaeniorhynchus and Culex sitiens to malathion and deltamethrin. Mosquito larvae were gathered biweekly over the three-month study duration. The density and diversity of research were evaluated independently for each category using the traditional diversity index. The World Health Organization (WHO) tube test was utilized to evaluate the pesticide susceptibility of adult Culex sitiens and Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes to malathion and deltamethrin. A total of 2,426 immature mosquitoes were captured. Two genera and ten species were gathered and identified as follows: Anopheles barbirostris, Anopheles peditaeniatus, Anopheles subpictus, Anopheles vagus, and five species of Culex: Cx. bitaeniorhynchus, Cx. gelidus, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. sitiens, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, and Cx. vishnui. Cx. tritaeniorhynchus exhibited intermediate tolerance to both malathion and deltamethrin, but Cx. sitiens shown great sensitivity to both pesticides under identical exposure settings. The increasing population of Culex tritaeniorhynchus mosquitoes in rice farming regions may present considerable threats to human health. An improved understanding of mosquito variety and pesticide resistance would facilitate the formulation of successful, regionally tailored vector control methods. Key words: Paddy field, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. sitiens, pesticides, resistance

The powdered samples derivedfrom the fruit, leaf, and bark of the Prosopis cineraria (L.) plant were evaluated for theirability to safeguard green gram seeds from damage caused by the pulse beetle Callosobruchus chinensis. The biologicalparameter examined for C. chinensis was "Percentadult emergence," which refers to the proportion of adult insects thatemerged from the green gram seedsupon which C. chinensis lay its eggs. Formulations derived from plant extracts were observedto inhibit the development of the pulse beetle from the egg stage to the adult stage and eliminate it within thegrain. The ovicidal and larvicidal effects of P. cineraria were demonstrated, as the extractsdramatically decreased the percentage of adult emergence by 56 to 93% at a 5% level of significance,compared to 96% in control groups. A minimum adult emergence rate of 56.68% was recorded in the groupstreated with 10% aqueous bark extract of P. cineraria.Significant inhibition of emergence was seen in groups treated with 10% fruit formulations, with a range of 56 – 59%.

ABSTRACT Nowadays, one of the main pests affecting stored seeds is Callosobruchus maculatus, which drastically lowers their quality and marketability. Especially for grains intended for human or animal feed, the conventional chemical insecticides used to manage this pest can carry serious risks. Consequently, the quest for substitute pest management strategies, such as the application of plant extracts and bioactive substances, has received a lot of attention lately. Multiple insect pests can be successfully controlled by bioactive substances found in particular plant components, according to recent research. The purpose of this work was to assess how well-known insecticidal plants Achillea millefolium and Heliotropium bacciferum affected life of C. maculatus cycle and to extract their bioactive components. Part of the components taken from the leaves of A. millefolium and H. bacciferum were identified by GC-Mass spectrometry. Three replicates were examined using ethanol, ethyl acetate, hexane extracts, cold water, hot water, and ethanol at four concentrations: 10, 7.5, 5, and 2.5 mg.mL-1 over 24-, 48-, 72-, and 96-hour periods. The most notable effect on beetle life metrics was found to be shown by H. bacciferum extracts. Mortality rates from adult and egg extracts were especially high at 10% concentration over 96 hours. Egg mortality from a 10% ethanol extract of H. bacciferum, for example, was 74%; egg mortality from ethyl acetate and hexane extracts was 69% and 65.07%, respectively; egg mortality from hot and cold-water extracts was (51%) and (47%). Adult death rates were (84%) for the 10% ethanol extract, (79%), (75%), (59%), and (55%) for the ethyl acetate, hexane, hot water, and cold-water extracts, in that order. Keywords: A. millefolium, H. bacciferum, Callosobruchus maculatus, plant extraction, phytochemical.

One of the most harmful infections to chickpea plants, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, causes stem rot and causes financial losses all over the world. Beneath the soil's surface, as sclerotia, the pathogen can live for a very long time alongside the detritus. As a result, the condition is extremely difficult to manage, has nearly no known treatments, and only a few types have been shown to be somewhat successful against the infection. Thus, the primary goal of the research is to investigate the effects of a variety of treatments, including Rhizobium leguminosarum + Pseudomonas fluorescens combination, Trichoderma viride, Saaf (Carbendazim 12%+ Mancozeb 63% WP), Vitavax Power (Carboxin 37.5%+ Thiram 37.5%), Hexaconazole, and Rhizobium leguminosarum + Pseudomonas fluorescens, to investigate their impact on S. sclerotiorum suppression. While maintaining sustainability, bioagents improve the soil's properties and productivity. Fungicides have been found to be effective when bio-agents are not able to control a disease. Therefore, in this investigation, both methods of treatment were used. The results of an experiment conducted in both in vitro and in vivo conditions showed that chemical treatment with Saaf fungicide and seed treatment with T. viride were highly efficient against S. sclerotiorum.

Fusarium oxysporum is the primary cause of Fusarium wilt, one of the major diseases that harm shallots. 50% of yield can be lost due to Fusarium wilt. It is anticipated that endophytic fungus will inhibit the growth of Fusarium wilt disease in shallots. The endophytic fungi from shallot plants that have the potential to act as biological control agents for the fungal disease F. oxysporum are suggested to be chosen in this study. Using Malt Extract Agar (MEA) medium, endophytic fungi were isolated from healthy shallot plant components (roots, tubers, stems, and leaves). Using dual culture and volatile techniques, the antagonistic potential of endophytic fungi against F. oxysporum was examined. Using shallot seeds, pathogenicity studies for endophytic fungus were conducted in vitro. Twelve endophytic fungal isolates were able to impede the growth of F. oxysporum using the dual culture method; the percentage of inhibition reached 72.52% at seven days post-inoculation. The endophytic fungus was also able to stop F. oxysporum mycelial growth using the volatile compound test, with a percentage inhibition ranging from 4.08 - 27.37%. The findings of the pathogenicity test demonstrated that the four isolates posed a risk to the shallot seeds. The most successful isolate in preventing the growth of F. oxysporum was the endophytic fungus AB4D1, which is a member of the Trichoderma asperellum species.

A study was done to investigate the antagonistic effects of three Trichoderma viride isolates (TV1, TV2 and TV3) on Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. The results revealed that the isolate TV1 proved to be the best in suppressing the mycelial growth by 77% after 7 days of incubation. However 74.91% and 50% inhibition were recorded on 5th and 3rd days of incubation, respectively. The isolate TV2 caused inhibition of 74.77% on 7th day, and 72.66% and 48.33% after 5th and 3rd days of incubation, respectively. 72.54%, 70.41%, and 51.66% inhibition in mycelial growth of the pathogenic fungus was caused by TV3 isolate after 7th, 5th, and 3rd days of incubation respectively. All the test isolates of T. viride showed a significant effect on the vigour index of common bean. The maximum germination percentage was observed on treatment with TV1 isolate (85%) followed by TV2 (83%) and TV3 (81%) respectively, in comparison to untreated seeds which showed a germination percentage of 73%. Maximum vigour index was shown by those plants whose seeds were treated with TV1 (11560), followed by those treated with isolate TV2 (10707) and TV3 (9234), whereas the control plants showed significantly lower vigour index of 7446 in comparison to treated plants.

ABSTRACT The present study aims to isolate endophytic actinomycetes (EPM) that are able to tolerate abiotic stresses, solubilize tricalcium phosphate (TCP) and produce indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), amylase and cellulose activities, while exhibiting high antagonistic activity against Fusarium oxysporum. f. sp. albedinis. Endophytic actinomycetes were isolated from roots, stems and leaves of Thymus saturoides and Lavandula multifida plant grown in Beni Mellal region, Morocco. According to the macro- and micro-morphological characteristics, a total of eleven EPM isolates were isolated and purified. Results indicated that the majority of isolates were able to tolerate pH and salt stresses. Moreover, the majority of the isolates were able to solubilize TCP on Pikovskaya (PVK)-agar medium which ranged from 25% to 458%. Additionally, on PVK-liquid medium, soluble phosphate content varied from 163.81 µg/mL recorded for the isolate LRP1 to 730 µg/mL observed for the isolate TSRP2. For IAA production, the amount produced varied from 1.70 µg/mL recorded for the isolate LRP1 to 14.13 µg/mL recorded for both LTP2’ and TSRP2. Endophytic actinomycetes isolated in this work also showed a remarkable capacity to degrade some compounds such as cellulose and starch. In addition, some of them showed a strong inhibitory activity against the fungus F. albedinis with a percentage of inhibition ranged from 69.13% observed for LTP2’ to 86.6% recorded for the isolate LRP2. Results from this study indicate that the two isolates LTP2’ and TSRP2 were the most efficient and that actinomycetes could be used in biocontrol against the fungus F. albedinis.

ABSTRACT The red flour beetle, Tribolum castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is one among the major devastating pests of stored plantain chips and stored flours. Their control using synthetic options of insecticide may cause food poisoning and bioaccumulation. The use of botanical treatments and their relatives have stood out by their proven efficacy against insect pests. This present study therefore evaluates the toxicity and repellency of table salt (Sodium Chloride), Zingiber officinale and pepper powders (Aframomum melegueta and Dennettia tripetala) as protectants of dried plantain chips infested with T. castaneum in the laboratory using standard methods. The highest percentage mean mortality (%) was recorded in 10g salted chips (65.00±7.88), and 10g D. tripetala (72.50±7.88), and repellency in 2g of Z. officinale and salt (69.06±5.91 and 51.22±5.91) respectively. Lowest number of holes was recorded in 5g of D. tripetala and 2g of salt (1.88±0.88 and 1.50±1.17) respectively. Likewise, the percentage weight loss was recorded in 5g of salt and 2g D. tripetala (1.80±0.87 and 62.62±6.87). A significant difference was observed in all the treatment groups (p< 0.05). LC50 was lowest in salted chips (1.59g) compared to D. tripetala (2.02g) and other peppered chips. More so, LC95 was lowest in D. tripetala (10.80g) compared to salt (36.00g) and other pepper chips. Considering the high mortality recorded in salted and peppered chips, their best concentrations could be adopted as viable alternatives over chemical pesticides in managing T. castaneum infestation in storage conditions.

Sitophilus oryzae and Sitophilus granarius (Coleoptera :Curculionidae) harmful insects cause a damages to stored product seeds. These pests controlled by chemical materials which pollute the environments. Essential oils are a natural compound used as insecticide to a lot of pests. In our research we controlled these pests by essential oils, Cinnamomum zeylancium, Zingiber officinale, Cuminum cyminum and Beauvericin nano gel 2%. Results showed that, the LC50s of S. Oryzae were 38, 44, 151 and 18 ppm for Beauvericin nano gel 2% C. zeylancium, C. cyminum and Z. officinale, respectively. Also LC50s for S. granarius obtained by the corresponding treatments were, 41, 144, 11and 29ppm. The accumulative of S. oryzae significantly increased after 48 (H) by 2.8 fold after application of Cinnamomum zeylancium oil. When Zingiber officinale Oil applications the accumulative mortality increased by 3,3fold. The Beauvericin nano gel 2% showed that the accumulative increased by increasing the exposure time.Cinnamomum zeylancium showed a higher effect on the wheat weevil S. granarius, where the accumulative mortality recorded 91 after 48 (H). The lower accumulative mortality after Beauvericin nano gel 2%, recorded 38 after 48(H). The repellency test showed that, the highest repellant found among the Beauvericin nano gel 2% treatments. Data presented show that the persistence effectiveness of oil significantly decreased by increasing the storage time. The potential of the insecticidal oils was high after 45 days of storage, against S. oryzae and S. granarius. The potential of the insecticidal effect of oil recorded the lowest percentage at the end of storage after 100 days to both S. oryzae and S. granarius.