Hail Kamel Shannag

Defoliation time and intensity of wall barley in the Mediterranean rangeland.

Wall barley (Hordeum murinum L.) is the dominant species in northeastern rangeland of Jordan that decreases under grazing. We investigated the responses of wall barley to clipping time and height during 2 growing seasons in the semiarid rangeland of Jordan. A natural stand was utilized to conduct the experiments that were arranged in a randomized complete block design during 1994/95 and 1995/1996 growing season. Treatments were combinations of clipping heights (5 or 10 cm above soil surface) and plant growth stages (tillering, jointing, or booting), in addition to unclipped check. Results showed that clipping to 5 and 10 cm stubble height at tillering produced 1,167 and 1,349 kg ha(-1) dry matter, respectively, compared to 1,122 kg ha(-1) for unclipped check. Clipping to 5 and 10 cm stubble height reduced shoot weight by 28 and 21% at jointing stage and 52 and 38% at booting stage. Defoliation during tillering stage did not impact plant height of regrowth nor seed yield. Weed biomass were higher when plant defoliation was delayed to the jointing and booting stages. Therefore, it is recommended to defoliate wall barley early at tillering stage but before plants reach jointing or reproductive stages.

Population dynamics of the Syrian Honeybee, Apis mellifera syriaca, under semi-arid Mediterranean conditions

Abstract Honeybees of the race Apis mellifera syriaca, which is autochthonous in Jordan, began brood rearing in the Jordan Valley at the early stages of nectar flow and pollen yield in late December and reached the entire season’s maximum peak at the time of the main honey flow of citrus trees in March. In the Irbid region, brood rearing reached its peak at the beginning of the main honey flow of wild plants in June and ceased completely in November. Worker populations showed a double cycle during all years of the investigation. The highest worker population was found in April, with the second peak in June. Seasonal fluctuations in brood rearing activity and population of worker bees were fairly constant both in time and relative magnitude throughout all three years of the study.

Grooming behaviour of Apis mellifera syriaca towards Varroa jacobsoni in Jordan

Eight Apis mellifera syriaca colonies at the Jordan University of Science and Technology campus in Jordan were used in the experiments to detect defence behaviour of worker bees against Varroa jacobsoni. This defence mechanism was determined by the degree of damaged mites that dropped from naturally infested colonies on inserts placed under the brood nest from June to October 1998. The average percentage of all dropping mites that were injured was 22.8%. A total of 86.5% of amputated mites were pigmented and 13.5% were less pigmented. Amputation to the first pair of legs was more often seen. Most of the phoretic mites were concealed between sclerites laterally on the abdomen, with distinct preference between second and third tergites. The grooming activity of A. mellifera syriaca provides evidence of active mechanisms of resistance toward the parasitic Varroa‐mite.

Seasonal cycles of Apis mellifera syriaca under Jordanian desert conditions

SUMMARY This experiment was conducted in northern Badia, Jordan, during 1997 and 1998, to investigate the feasibility of beekeeping in this arid region. 12 colonies of Apis mellifera syriaca were used. Half of the colonies remained in Badia during the experimental period (stationary hives), the rest were transported between the study area and the Jordan Valley (migratory hives). Results showed that colonies began their brood rearing activity in Badia during the early stages of the nectar flow and pollen yield in January, but it dropped almost to zero at the end of August. The peaks of brood rearing occurred during March and June. Maximum adult populations for the entire season were found during April and July, dropping to a minimum for the year in December. Behaviour of migratory colonies was very similar to that of the stationary colonies. Seasonal brood rearing activity and population of adult bees in both treatment groups showed the same general trend in the second year. Annual average honey production was estimated to be 10 kg per colony for stationary hives and 6 kg per colony for migratory hives.

Incidence and Geographical Distribution of Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) Pests in Jordan

Abstract The occurrence and distribution of pests of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) in Jordan were surveyed during the agricultural seasons of 1999 and 2000. A total of 800 colonies in 112 apiaries were chosen from different geographical regions that support beekeeping in Jordan. Honeybee colonies are attacked by 21 pest species in different areas of Jordan. The most distributed pests which cause considerable damage are Varroa destructor, Vespa orientalis, Galleria melonella, Dorylus fulvus, Braula orientalis, Merops apiaster, Hirundo rustica, Hirundo daurica and Merops orientalis. Other pests of minor importance to beekeeping were also recorded. Most of the recorded pests were appeared in both the Jordan Valley and Irbid regions.

Management of Braula orientalis Örösi (Diptera: Braulidae) in honeybee colonies with tobacco smoke under semiarid conditions

In the present study, bee colonies were smoked with tobacco smoke in order to evaluate the monthly changes in the numbers of worker bees, the infestation rates of worker bees and queens with bee lice, and the annual average honey production per colony. In July of each year, 12 colonies were smoked with tobacco smoke; the remaining hives not smoked with tobacco smoke served as the control. The results indicated that the applications of tobacco smoke during July gave rise to an impressive reduction in the Braula infestation rate on workers (below 1.8%) and reduced the amount of bee lice on the queen to zero throughout the 2–3 months following smoke treatment. In the colonies not treated with smoke, the Braula infestation rates on worker bees started to increase in May and continued to increase constantly during the rest of year, reaching maximum infestation rates of 28.2% and 33.8% in December, with an average of 15 and 17 lice per queen in November in the first and second years, respectively. Worker bee populations peaked in April and July of each year in both treatments. The average honey production per colony was significantly higher in the colonies treated with smoke than those that were not for the first and second years. In conclusion, early summer months may be the crucial time to smoke the colonies with tobacco smoke in order to keep bee lice at low levels for the remaining seasons.

Ontogenesis of the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni on Syrian Honey Bees, Apis mellifera syriaca

Abstract The reproductive behaviour of the mite Varroa jacobsoni was investigated during the summer months in Apis mellifera syriaca colonies in Irbid, Jordan. Reproductive rates for mites reaching adulthood were estimated by examining the progeny of the female mother mites in worker and drone cells. The proportions of non-reproducing mites in the worker and drone brood were 9.8% and 4.9%, respectively. The reproductive rate was 2.72 for mites in worker cells and 3.35 for mites in drone cells. The percentage of infested brood with adult mite daughters was 43.9 % for worker and 55% for drone broods. The rate for females reaching adulthood from each original female mite was 0.75 for worker and 1.41 for drone brood.

Comparative effects of two novel Betaproteobacteria-based insecticides on Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Phenacoccus madeirensis (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae)

Abstract We compared the lethal and sublethal effects of 2 novel Betaproteobacteria-based insecticides (Burkholderia spp. strain A396 as Venerate® XC; Chromobacterium subtsugae strain PRAA4-1 as Grandevo® WDG) for suppression of 2 polyphagous insect pests of world-wide importance: green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), and Madeira mealybug, Phenacoccus madeirensis Green (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). In laboratory and screenhouse tests, the insects were exposed to residues applied by leaf dipping, or by spraying the insects and foliage. These novel products also were compared to a well-established product, spirotetramat (Movento® 240 SC). Spirotetramat was generally effective for suppression of both species of insects, and Burkholderia (Venerate) induced mortality levels that made it competitive with spirotetramat. Chromobacterium subtsugae (Grandevo) was less satisfactory, inducing only moderate levels of mortality in both species. Reproduction by aphids surviving exposure to Burkholderia was slightly affected, whereas C. subtsugae did not affect reproduction. New Betaproteobacteria-based insecticides show promise for a useful role in suppressing important insect pests such as M. persicae and P. madeirensis.