Insect Fauna Associated With Anacardium occidentale (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae) in Benin, West Africa
ABSTRACT. Cashew, Anacardium occidentale L. (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae), is an important cash crop in Benin. However, its production is threatened by several biotic factors, especially insects. In Benin, very few studies have focused on insects and just listed species commonly found on cashew worldwide. The present investigation fills this gap by presenting an exhaustive inventory of insect species associated with this crop in the country. The survey was carried out from September 2009 to August 2010 in 22 cashew orchards (5 young and 17 mature) distributed over three major agroecological zones where cashew is most produced in the country. Insects were collected using chemical knock-down technique and visual observation followed by capture with sweep net. In addition, infested plant organs were sampled and incubated to collect emerging insects. In total, 262 insect species were recorded and identified. Among them, the wood borer Apate terebrans Pallas, the leafminer Eteoryctis gemoniella Stainton, and the mirid bugs Helopeltis schoutedeni Reuter., and Helopeltis anacardii Miller., appeared as the most important insect species attacking cashew in Benin. Beneficial insects encountered included some predators, parasitoids, and pollinators. Few vertebrate predators were also recorded on the trees. Differences in agroecological conditions or in field cleanliness did not affect the number of insect species encountered in the cashew orchards. The results of this study represent an important baseline data for the design and implementation of strategies for cashew protection in Benin.
Parasitoids associated with mango leaf miner, Acrocercops syngramma (Meyrick) Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae in Mango Orchard
The experiment was conducted on leaf miner, Acrocercops syngramma (M.) infestation and its parasitoids in Saeed Khan Kanher, mango orchard, Khairpur Sindh, Pakistan, during 2015. The results revealed were significant, (P<0.05) highest leaf miner larval population was recorded on Chaunsa (15.806/shoot). The leaf miner remained active during the emergence of new flushes in plants from August to October, with four population peaks. However, two parasitoids, Chrysocharis nephereus (W.) and Sympiesis hyblaeae (S.) were recorded in leaf miner larvae. The high adult’s population of parasitoids; C. nephereus and S. hyblaeae (4.502/plant and 1.767/plant) recorded on Chaunsa and minimum on Sindhri. While, significantly maximum parasitism percentage of both parasitoids C. nephereus and S. hyblaeae were recorded on leaf miner larvae on Chuansa. The correlation results of temperature and relative humidity with leaf miner populations on different mango varieties showed nonsignificant and negative correlation on Chaunsa, Fajiri and Sindhri.
Flame-Retardant Characteristics of Natural Rubber Modified with a Bromo Derivative of Phosphorylated Cashew Nut Shell Liquid
Natural rubber (NR) in a typical semi-efficient vulcanization system was modified with flame-retardant additives such as bromo derivative of phosphorylated cashew nut shell liquid, antimony trioxide and alumina tri hydrate (ATH). Improvement in the flame retardancy of the vulcanizates was shown by the progressive increase in Limiting Oxygen Index with the concen tration of ATH. Besides, the smoke density and the smoke release rate were reduced substantially in the presence of 100 phr of ATH in the vulcanizate. Thermogravimetric analysis showed higher activation energy for decomposi tion and higher yields of decomposition residue for the ATH-filled NR vulcanizates. Also, the vulcanizate modified with the flame retardants showed improvements in tensile and tear strengths in presence of 50 phr of the filler.