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Novel, suitable and sustainable alternative control tactics that have the potential to reduce migration of Diaphorina citri into commercial citrus orchards are essential to improve management of huanglongbing (HLB). In this study, the effect of orange jasmine (Murraya paniculata) as a border trap crop on psyllid settlement and dispersal was assessed in citrus orchards. Furthermore, volatile emission profiles and relative attractiveness of both orange jasmine and sweet orange (Citrus × aurantium L., syn. Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck) nursery flushes to D. citri were investigated. In newly established citrus orchards, the trap crop reduced the capture of psyllids in yellow sticky traps and the number of psyllids that settled on citrus trees compared to fallow mowed grass fields by 40% and 83%, respectively. Psyllids were attracted and killed by thiamethoxam-treated orange jasmine suggesting that the trap crop could act as a ‘sink’ for D. citri. Additionally, the presence of the trap crop reduced HLB incidence by 43%. Olfactometer experiments showed that orange jasmine plays an attractive role on psyllid behavior and that this attractiveness may be associated with differences in the volatile profiles emitted by orange jasmine in comparison with sweet orange. Results indicated that insecticide-treated M. paniculata may act as a trap crop to attract and kill D. citri before they settled on the edges of citrus orchards, which significantly contributes to the reduction of HLB primary spread.

RESUMO: O uso de cobertura plástica no cultivo de videira encontra-se em expansão no Rio Grande do Sul, por ser uma alternativa que visa a proteger as plantas da precipitação pluvial e do granizo. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os impactos de uma cobertura plástica translúcida e impermeável sobre a fenologia, o crescimento (de ramos, folhas, cachos e bagas) e a produtividade em videiras 'Cabernet Sauvignon' (Vitis vinifera L.), com cinco anos de idade, conduzidas em sistema 'Y', sobre porta-enxerto Paulsen 1103. O experimento, conduzido no município de Caxias do Sul-RS, seguiu o delineamento em blocos ao acaso, tendo os tratamentos sem e com cobertura plástica, com quatro repetições de 15 plantas (unidade experimental). As alterações microclimáticas impostas pela cobertura plástica não foram expressivas para alterar a fenologia da videira. As plantas cultivadas sob cobertura plástica apresentaram maiores valores de comprimento e massa fresca de ramos e de área, e massa seca foliar em comparação às plantas descobertas. O peso e o diâmetro de bagas foram superiores nas videiras cobertas apenas no início do ciclo e não diferiram próximo da colheita. As demais variáveis analisadas não foram afetadas pela cobertura plástica. A cobertura plástica interferiu no crescimento vegetativo das plantas, mas não afetou a produção. Termos para indexação: Vitis vinifera L., cultivo protegido, fenologia, crescimento, produção de frutos. VEGETATIVE GROWTH AND YIELD OF 'CABERNET SAUVIGNON' GRAPEVINE UNDER OVERHEAD PLASTIC COVERINGABSTRACT -There is an increasing adoption of overhead plastic covering for grapevines in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, to protect the plants from rain and hail storms. This study was carried out to evaluate the impacts of overhead plastic covering with a translucent and water-proof plastic film on phenological, growth (of branch, leaves, clusters, and berries), and yield attributes of five years old 'Cabernet Sauvignon' grapevines (Vitis vinifera L.) on Paulsen 1103 rootstock raised as 'Y' management system. The experiment was carried out in Caxias do Sul, State of Rio Grande do Sul, and followed a randomized block design, with two treatments (uncovered and covered plants) and four replicates of 15 plants (experimental unit). The micro-environmental changes imposed by the cover did not affect grapevines phenology. The grapevines under the cover had higher values for branches growth (length and fresh mass), and leaf expansion (area and dry mass) than the uncovered ones. The berries weight and diameter were superior on grapevines under covering plastic only at earlier stages of fruit growth but not at harvest. The other variables assessed were not affected by the cover. The results show that overhead plastic covering can interfere with vegetative growth without affecting yield.

This study clearly demonstrates that processed kaolin interferes negatively with different aspects of the host plant finding ability of D. citri. These findings suggest that processed kaolin has a high potential to reduce huanglongbing primary infection. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Under laboratory conditions, mating activity in Asian citrus psyllid (ACP) started 4 days after emergence, peaked at day 7, and showed a clear window of activity starting 8 h into the photophase and extending through the first hour of the scotophase. We confirmed that ACP males are attracted to emanations from conspecific females. Traps loaded with a candidate compound enriched with female extract, lignoceryl acetate (24Ac), at various doses were active only after being deployed for several weeks in the field, suggesting that a degradation product, not the test compound, was the active ingredient(s). Lignocerol, a possible product of 24Ac degradation, was not active, whereas acetic acid, another possible degradation product, was found in the airborne volatile collections from lures matured under field conditions and detected in higher amounts in volatiles collected from females at the peak of mating activity than in male samples. Acetic acid elicited dose-dependent electroantennographic responses and attracted ACP males, but not females, in Y-type and 4-way olfactometers. Field tests showed that acetic acid-baited traps captured significantly more males than control traps. Surprisingly, captures of females in acetic acid-baited traps were also higher than in control traps, possibly because of physical stimuli emitted by captured males.

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Huanglongbing (HLB), the most destructive citrus disease worldwide, is associated with the bacteria transmitted by the psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae). One of the main tactics used to manage this disease is the chemical control of D. citri. In this study, the efficacy of four insecticides commonly used by the citrus growers against the D. citri adults was assessed in two vegetative growth stages of flush: young shoots (~ 10 cm in length) and mature leaves. The bioassays were carried out under the greenhouse and field conditions. The insecticides bifenthrin, dimethoate, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam were tested at the recommended rates of 15, 450, 40 and 25 mg/L of water, respectively. The insecticides were sprayed onto the leaves of each stage until runoff. Psyllid mortality was assessed at different periods after insecticide application (0, 1 and 2 weeks). In both greenhouse and field trees, the period of control was shorter in the young shoots than in the mature leaves. In addition, the efficacy of insecticides rapidly decreased in the young shoots over time, mainly for imidacloprid and bifenthrin (less than 1 week). Thus, these results suggest that the number of spray applications to control D. citri should be more frequent during the flushing period.

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