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The two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) is an important pest of many horticultural crops. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of three fluorescent Pseudomonas isolates obtained from rhizospheric soil of tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) in Agadir, Morocco: Q110B, Q036B and Q172B, as potential biological control agents for T. urticae. Both acaricide and repellent activities were assessed on homogenous adult mites. The acaricidal activity test evaluated five concentrations of bacterial suspensions: 0 (control), 10 2 , 10 4 , 10 6 , 10 8 , and 10 10 cfu ⋅ ml -1 , while only the 10 10 cfu • ml −1 concentration of each bacterium was used for the repellent bioassay. The mortality rate and repellentindex were recorded 24, 48 and 72 h after application. Results indicated that the survival rate of T. urticae was reduced (p ≤ 0.01) by all three bacterial isolates compared to control. Within the 24-72 h time period the mortality rates ranged from 8 to 87%, 16 to 99%, and 13 to 89%, for Q110B, Q036B and Q172B isolates, respectively. The isolate Q036B (LC 50 = 0.598 cfu ⋅ ml -1 ) provided higher mortality rates than Q172B and Q110B with LC 50 values of 90,846 and 169,585 cfu ⋅ ml -1 , respectively. Repellent activity was also the highest with Pseudomonas Q036B having a 71% repellence index at 48 h after application. Regarding the mechanism of action, all three isolates produced hydrogen cyanide, and exhibited protease and cellulose activities, although only Q036B and Q172B had potential chitinase action. Identification analysis showed that the isolates were either Pseudomonas putida (Q172B) or P. fluorescens (Q110B and Q036B). Our results indicate that the P. fluorescens isolate Q036B is a promising candidate for biological control of T. urticae, and has potential to contribute to an integrated pest management program to control this important pest. Then the fruits produced will be qualified as safe for consumers and the environment. The present work was customized to give support for policy decision makers as an agroecological potential meeting needs of industries and ecological balance.

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, (Medfly) is considered a key pest of citrus fruit in many countries. Integrated pest management (IPM) approaches are frequently highly dependent on the use of insecticides. Oxitec's self-limiting (prevents the insects' offspring from surviving to adulthood) Medfly technology (OX3864A) offers an approach to manage Medfly outbreaks and may offer improved sustainability and economics for area-wide programmes. Netted cages were used to evaluate OX3864A deployed for the first time outdoors as a preventative treatment to suppress wild Medfly. Comparative assessments examined sexual competitiveness, the relative performance of OX3864A releases at both adult and pupal lifestages, and the ability of OX3864A to protect against fruit damage. OX3864A males are as competitive as wild males. Deployment of both adult and pupal life-stages of OX3864A effectively reduce Medfly abundance, resulting in elimination of the target pest populations. OX3864A deployment as adults also demonstrated the beneficial attribute of protecting fruit quality to preserve marketable yield. Data for adult and pupal deployment strategies are encouraging for self-limiting technologies targeting Medfly populations and support a broader evaluation of OX3864A Medfly or further improved self-liming Oxitec strains of Medfly in open settings.

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The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, is a significant pest of stone and pome fruit that causes considerable economic losses worldwide. Current control is primarily based on insecticides, which are often mixed with protein baits. Oxitec has developed a self-limiting medfly strain (OX3864A) that demonstrates conditional female-specific mortality in the early life stages. Sustained release of OX3864A males offers medfly control, which should lead to substantial economic benefits in area-wide programmes. In the current study, the optimum quantities of mature and immature stages of the strain are assessed under semi-mass production. Moreover, the rearing and quality control limitations related to the production of this strain are provided. The data here demonstrate that the egg hatch rate can reach >85% under optimum rearing conditions. However, this depends on the number of pupae loaded in a cage and their ages. The suggested pupal density ranges between 14,000 and 18,000 pupae per cage to provide optimum egg production. In parallel, the embryo densities of 1.25–1.5 mL/kg larval Tet+ diet are recommended for strain propagation, while embryo densities of 1.25–2.0 mL/kg larval Tet− diet are suggested for male-only pupal production.