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Wheat aphid, Sitobion avenae (Fab.), is a serious pest of wheat crop across the world. The present study was conducted to evaluate the potentials of the water plant extracts of Azadirachta indica (neem) or Eucalyptus camaldulensis and the entomopathogenic fungi (EPF); Beauveria bassiana or Metarhizium anisopliae against the aphid species. After 5 days of applications, the combined mixture of B. bassiana and eucalyptus extract caused the maximum mortality rate (87%). While the combination of B. bassiana with neem extract showed the least rate (54%). Fecundity was negatively affected by the single and combined treatments of EPF and botanicals extracts. The lowest fecundity (7 nymphs per female) was recorded when the aphid was treated by the binary mixture of B. bassiana and eucalyptus extract. Correspondent maximum fecundity (29 nymphs per female) in 5 days was recorded in control treatment, while 23 nymphs were produced by a single female when treated with the binary mixture of B. bassiana and neem extract. The results indicated that EPF and botanical extracts (neem or eucalyptus) caused significant reduction in survival and fecundity of S. avenae. Therefore, they may be used as promising natural alternatives to synthetic insecticides against the wheat aphid species.

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The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the major insect pests which renders the fruit to become unfit for human consumption. In severe cases, losses may reach up to 100% in some fruit crops. The present study aimed to investigate the pathogenicity of entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs), Heterorhabditis bacteriophora, H. indica, Steinernema carpocapsae, and S. asiaticum against B. dorsalis maggots and pupae under laboratory conditions. One milliliter of EPNs, having 50, 75, and 100 infective juveniles (IJs) against maggots and 100, 150, and 200 IJs against pupae, were poured into 9 cm Petri dishes with 20 g sterilized soil as supporting media. The highest maggots' mortality (70%) was obtained after 3 days of application of H. bacteriophora and S. carpocapsae and reached up to (96%) after 9 days. S. asiaticum and H. indica caused 91.16 and 85.87% mortality, respectively, after 9 days post treatment at the highest nematode concentration (100 IJs/ml). Whereas, against the fruit fly pupae, H. bacteriophora caused 69.08% mortality after 9 days at the highest concentration (200 IJs/ml). All nematode species showed high effectiveness against both stages of B. dorsalis. Their application can be further evaluated under field conditions to promote a good biological control of fruit flies for healthier fruit production.