Climate change and global warming are of great concern to agriculture worldwide and are among the most discussed issues in today's society. Climate parameters such as increased temperatures, rising ...atmospheric CO
levels, and changing precipitation patterns have significant impacts on agricultural production and on agricultural insect pests. Changes in climate can affect insect pests in several ways. They can result in an expansion of their geographic distribution, increased survival during overwintering, increased number of generations, altered synchrony between plants and pests, altered interspecific interaction, increased risk of invasion by migratory pests, increased incidence of insect-transmitted plant diseases, and reduced effectiveness of biological control, especially natural enemies. As a result, there is a serious risk of crop economic losses, as well as a challenge to human food security. As a major driver of pest population dynamics, climate change will require adaptive management strategies to deal with the changing status of pests. Several priorities can be identified for future research on the effects of climatic changes on agricultural insect pests. These include modified integrated pest management tactics, monitoring climate and pest populations, and the use of modelling prediction tools.
Western corn rootworm (WCR), or
LeConte, became a very serious quarantine maize pest in Europe in the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2010, European countries were involved in international projects to ...share information and plan common research for integrated pest management (IPM) implementation. Since 2011, however, common efforts have declined, and an overview of WCR population spread, density, and research is in serious need of update. Therefore, we retained that it was necessary to (1) summarize the research activities carried out in the last 12 years in various countries and the research topics addressed, and analyze how these activities have contributed to IPM for WCR and (2) present the current distribution of WCR in the EU and analyze the current population levels in different European countries, focusing on different management strategies. A review of scientific papers published from 2008 to 2020, in addition to direct interviews with experts in charge of WCR management in a range of European countries, was conducted. Over the past 12 years, scientists in Europe have continued their research activities to investigate various aspects of WCR management by implementing several approaches to WCR control. A considerable amount of new knowledge has been produced, contributing to the development of pest management strategies applicable in EU farming systems. Among the 10 EU countries analyzed, there is no country reporting economic damage on a large scale. Thanks to intensive research leading to specific agricultural practices and the EU Common Agricultural Policy, there are crop-rotation-based solutions that can adequately control this pest avoiding insecticide use.
Climate change and invasive species are major environmental issues facing the world today. They represent the major threats for various types of ecosystems worldwide, mainly managed ecosystems such ...as agriculture. This study aims to examine the link between climate change and the biological invasion of insect pest species. Increased international trade systems and human mobility have led to increasing introduction rates of invasive insects while climate change could decrease barriers for their establishment and distribution. To mitigate environmental and economic damage it is important to understand the biotic and abiotic factors affecting the process of invasion (transport, introduction, establishment, and dispersal) in terms of climate change. We highlight the major biotic factors affecting the biological invasion process: diet breadth, phenological plasticity, and lifecycle strategies. Finally, we present alien insect pest invasion management that includes prevention, eradication, and assessment of the biological invasion in the form of modelling prediction tools.
Climate change has a significant impact on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivation due to the occurrence of various environmental stress parameters. It destabilizes wheat production mainly ...through abiotic stresses (heat waves, drought, floods, frost, salinity, and nutrient deficiency) and improved conditions for pest and disease development and infestation as biotic parameters. The impact of these parameters can be reduced by timely and appropriate management measures such as irrigation, fertilization, or pesticide application. However, this requires the early diagnosis and quantification of the various stressors. Since they induce specific physiological responses in plant cells, structures, and tissues, environmental stress parameters can be monitored by different sensing methods, taking into account that these responses affect the signal in different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM), especially visible (VIS), near infrared (NIR), and shortwave infrared (SWIR). This study reviews recent findings in the application of remote and proximal sensing methods for early detection and evaluation of abiotic and biotic stress parameters in crops, with an emphasis on winter wheat. The study first provides an overview of climate-change-induced stress parameters in winter wheat and their physiological responses. Second, the most promising non-invasive remote sensing methods are presented, such as airborne and satellite multispectral (VIS and NIR) and hyperspectral imaging, as well as proximal sensing methods using VNIR-SWIR spectroscopy. Third, data analysis methods using vegetation indices (VI), chemometrics, and various machine learning techniques are presented, as well as the main application areas of sensor-based analysis, namely, decision-making processes in precision agriculture.
Apple is one of the most important economic fruit crops in the world. Despite all the strategies of integrated pest management (IPM), insecticides are still frequently used in its cultivation. In ...addition, pest phenology is extremely influenced by changing climatic conditions. The frequent spread of invasive species, unexpected pest outbreaks, and the development of additional generations are some of the problems posed by climate change. The adopted strategies of IPM therefore need to be changed as do the current monitoring techniques, which are increasingly unreliable and outdated. The need for more sophisticated, accurate, and efficient monitoring techniques is leading to increasing development of automated pest monitoring systems. In this paper, we summarize the automatic methods (image analysis systems, smart traps, sensors, decision support systems, etc.) used to monitor the major pest in apple production (Cydia pomonella L.) and other important apple pests (Leucoptera maifoliella Costa, Grapholita molesta Busck, Halyomorpha halys Stål, and fruit flies—Tephritidae and Drosophilidae) to improve sustainable pest management under frequently changing climatic conditions.
Sexual dimorphism of brown marmorated stink bug Pajač Živković, Ivana; Mulamehmedović, Jasmina; Göldel, Bastian ...
Journal of Central European agriculture,
01/2022, Letnik:
23, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The brown marmorated stink bug is a relatively new member of the Croatian entomofauna, whose biology and ecology are still being researched. The species is known for its polyphagy and is invasive, as ...evidenced by damage to field, vegetable, and fruit crops around the world. The aim of this study was to determine the sexual dimorphism of Halyomorpha halys based on phenotypic characters on the dorsal and ventral sides of the body. Sixty individuals of each sex were isolated. Each individual was photographed from the dorsal and ventral sides using a digital camera, then the forewing and hindwing pairs were removed, mounted on microscope slides, and photographed. Photographs of the dorsal side of the body were used to measure the values of body length, pronotum width, body surface area, and the surfaces of the forewing and hindwing pairs. Differences on the ventral side of the body were determined by visual inspection. The results of the study showed that males and females differed statistically in all measurements and that the species exhibited female-biased sexual size dimorphism. These traits (larger and more powerful physique and especially wings) make females the more suitable sex for migratory flight and thus responsible for the rapid expansion of the population into new areas. Differences between the sexes have also been noted in coloration on the ventral side of the body. The red pigmentation of the sternum was much more pronounced in males than in females, further confirming the sexual dimorphism of the species in body coloration.
The brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys (Stål, 1855)) is an extremely polyphagous invasive insect originating from East Asia. It causes damage by feeding on fruit trees and shrubs, legumes, ...forest trees, and ornamental shrubs and trees. The pest has successfully established in North America and Europe and causes economic damage to agricultural production. The first discovery of H. halys in Croatia occurred in 2017 in the coastal region in Rijeka. In 2018, the pest was sporadically observed in urban areas of Sveta Nedelja, Zagreb and Vukovar, and a total of 22 specimens of H. halys were found in single and multi-family houses in eight locations. The discovery of the species in the continental part of the country is evidence of the spread of this species in Croatia. During 2019, the first mass occurrence of the pest was detected in the rural area of Zagreb (Drenčec) in a soybean field. A total of 723 specimens of H. halys were identified. The average number of stink bugs per 10 plants was 14 specimens, which poses a serious threat to soybean production in the area. The very rapid spread of the pest from urban to rural areas and the establishment of its local populations is evidence of the invasive nature of the species and a warning signal for farmers in Croatia. To prevent the spread and mass occurrence of H. halys on agricultural land and to minimise possible damage to agricultural production, it is necessary to constantly monitor the pest and, if necessary, to take appropriate protective measures in agriculture.
Fireflies (Coleoptera: Lampyridae), with more than 2 000 species in 100 genera worldwide, are a charismatic nocturnal species. Although popular in different cultures because of their association with ...warm summer evenings in childhood, fireflies are an under-researched insect. Like numerous other insects worldwide, fireflies have experienced declines in their distribution and abundance. Anthropogenic impacts and climate change are likely to influence their development, reproduction, and survival. A project called “Krešo Krijesnica” (eng. “Krešo the Firefly”), used a Citizen Science model of data collection, to determine where are the fireflies located and how abundant are they throughout Croatia. Citizen Science involves the participation of the general or non-scientific public in data collection so determining the basic demographic profile of the citizen scientists involved was also one of the project goals. During the first phase of the project (2019-2021), data on fireflies were provided by citizen scientists through a formal survey on social media (Facebook, Instagram). Phase two aims to open the fireflies’ datasets to the public through various open data portals. In the three years of the project, more than 16 000 records of fireflies were collected and analysed from over 1800 sightings. Descriptive statistics showed that the highest firefly population density was found in central Croatia, which is consistent with the greater number of people living in this area and thus a greater chance of firefly detection. Higher number pf female reporters were noted during the project. The dataset collected in this Citizen Science project presents a valuable source of information to the scientific community, especially in the field of entomology, conservation biology and ecology.