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Dive into the research topics where Shafqat Saeed is active.

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Featured researches published by Shafqat Saeed.


Entomological Research | 2017

Effects of three different cultivars of cruciferous plants on the age-stage, two-sex life table traits of Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae): Two-sex life table of P. xylostella

Waqar Jaleel; Shafqat Saeed; Qamar Saeed; Muhammad Nadir Naqqash; Muhammad Umair Sial; Qurat Ul Aine; Lei Yanyuan; Zhao Rui; Yurong He; Lihua Lu

Plutella xylostella is an important pest of cruciferous crops worldwide. However, information regarding the age‐stage, two‐sex life parameters of P. xylostella, which is vital for designing more effective control methods, is currently lacking. The present study reports age‐stage, two‐sex life table parameters for P. xylostella on napa cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. napa), white cabbage (B. oleracea var. capitata), and cauliflower (B. oleracea var. botrytis) under laboratory conditions at 25 ± 2°C, 50–60% relative humidity, and a 16‐h light : 8‐h dark photoperiod. The time for development from an egg to a male or female adult P. xylostella on white cabbage (mean [± SE] 41.15 ± 0.54 and 39.50 ± 0.54 days, respectively) was significantly longer than that on cauliflower and napa cabbage. Furthermore, P. xylostella fecundity on cauliflower (261.90 ± 4.53 eggs female) was significantly highest than on napa cabbage and white cabbage. Intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite rate of increase (λ) were highest on cauliflower 0.182 day−1 and 1.199 day−1 respectively as comparison to napa cabbage and white cabbage. The highest gross reproductive rate (GRR) and net reproductive rates (R0) of P. xylostella 65.87 and 52.58 respectively on cauliflower then those of other hosts. The findings of the present study indicate that cauliflower is the most suitable cultivar (host) for the development of P. xylostella. Based on these findings, crops like cauliflower can be used as trap crops when napa cabbage and white cabbage are the main crops.


Neotropical Entomology | 2016

Pollen Deposition Is More Important than Species Richness for Seed Set in Luffa Gourd

Mudssar Ali; Shafqat Saeed; Asif Sajjad

In the context of global biodiversity decline, it is imperative to understand the different aspects of bee communities for sustaining the vital ecosystem service of pollination. Bee species can be assigned to functional groups (average difference among species in functionally related traits) on the basis of complementarity (trait variations exhibited by individual organisms) in their behavior but is not yet known which functional group trait is most important for seed set. In this study, first, the functional groups of bees were made based on their five selected traits (pollen deposition, visitation rate, stay time, visiting time of the day, body size) and then related to the seed set of obligate cross-pollinated Luffa gourd (Luffa aegyptiaca). We found that bee diversity and abundance differed significantly among the studied plots, but only the bee species richness was positively related to the seed set. Functional group diversity in terms of pollen deposition explained even more of the variance in seed set (r2 = 0.74) than did the species richness (r2 = 0.53) making it the most important trait of bee species for predicting the crop reproductive success.


Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences | 2018

Insect pollinator diversity in four forested ecosystems of southern Punjab, Pakistan

Muhammad Amjad Bashir; Shafqat Saeed; Asif Sajjad; Khalid Ali Khan; Hamed A. Ghramh; Muhammad Ahmed Shehzad; Hussani Mubarak; Nosheen Mirza; Shahzadi Mahpara; Muhammad Ishaq Asif Rehmani; Mohammad Javed Ansari

This study investigated pollinator assemblage diversity and richness in four forested ecosystems of southern Punjab, Pakistan, with different landscape types. Pirowal is situated in the plains of irrigated Punjab, Lal Suhanra is part of a sandy desert ecosystem, Ghazi Ghat is part of the Indus River delta, and Fort Munro is located in dry hilly mountains. A yearlong survey of pollinator populations was carried out in these four forested ecosystems from January to December of 2010. Fortnightly hand netting was performed for collecting flower-visiting insects whereas, pan traps of three colors (white, blue, and yellow) were deployed for collecting the data. A total of 8,812 individuals from two orders (Lepidoptera and Diptera) were observed, including 22 families and 154 species. Bees were the most abundant, with 4,502 individuals, and the most species-rich taxa, with 70 species in five families, followed by flies having 2,509 individuals and 51species in 10 families. Wasps were the least abundant with 1,801 individuals and 33 species in seven families. The assemblage structure of pollinator communities as visualized through rank abundance curves showed that there were many species with low abundance and only a few species with a much higher abundance. The most abundant species among the bees, in order, were Nomia sp.3, Megachile bicolor, and Colletes sp.3; among flies, Syrphus sp.2, Calliphoridae sp.1, and Empididae sp.4; and among wasps, Tiphiidae sp.1, Myzininae sp.2, and Scelionidae sp.1.


Entomological Research | 2017

Effect of temporal data aggregation on the perceived structure of a quantitative plant–floral visitor network

Asif Sajjad; Shafqat Saeed; Mudssar Ali; Fawad Zafar Ahmad Khan; Yong Jung Kwon; Mariano Devoto

Seasonal turnover in plant and floral visitor communities changes the structure of the network of interactions they are involved in. Despite the dynamic nature of plant–visitor networks, a usual procedure is to pool year‐round interaction data into a single network which may result in a biased depiction of the real structure of the interaction network. The annual temporal dynamics and the effect of merging monthly data have previously been described for qualitative data (i.e. describing the occurrence of interactions) alone, while its quantitative aspect (i.e. the actual frequency with which interactions occur) remain little explored. For this, we built a set of 12 monthly networks describing year‐round plant–floral visitor interactions in a 30‐hectare planted forest and its adjacent agricultural landscape at Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan. A total of 80 plant and 162 insect species, which engaged in 1573 unique interactions, were recorded. Most network properties (particularly the number of plants, visitors and unique interactions) varied markedly during the year. Data aggregation showed that while animal species, plant species, unique interaction, weighted nestedness, interaction diversity and robustness increased, connectance and specialization decreased. The only metric which seemed relatively unaffected by data pooling was interaction evenness. In general, quantitative metrics were relatively less affected by temporal data aggregation than qualitative ones. Avoiding data aggregation not only gives a more realistic depiction of the dynamic nature of plant–visitor community networks, but also avoids biasing network metrics and, consequently, their expected response to disturbances such as the loss of species.


Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences | 2018

Yearlong association of insect pollinator, Pseudapis oxybeloides with flowering plants: Planted forest vs. agricultural landscape

Asif Sajjad; Mudssar Ali; Shafqat Saeed; Muhammad Amjad Bashir; Intazar Ali; Khalid Ali Khan; Hamed A. Ghramh; Mohammad Javed Ansari

The yearlong association of a native bee, Pseudapis oxybeloides (Halictidae: Hymenoptera) was studied with 72 plant species in a sub-tropical planted forest and some adjacent agricultural landscapes at Multan, Pakistan. The study resulted in 66 interactions of P. oxybeloides with only 24 plant species in 15 families while other 48 plant species were not visited by this bee. The maximum abundance of P. oxybeloides (7–9 individuals) was recorded on Achyranthes aspera and Launaea procumbens followed by Ageratum conyzoides, Trianthema portulacastrum and Cleome viscosa (5–6 individuals). Majority (19) of plant species were visited by only 1–4 individuals. The bee activity was started in the month of March which attained its peak in May followed by a gradual decline until September. No bees were observed during the months of January and February. There was a significant positive relationship between bee abundance and number of flowering plant species. Bee abundance had a strong positive relationship with temperature while it had a strong negative relationship with relative humidity (%). Floral abundance increased with the number of flowering plant species while it was not influenced by floral span of plant species. Besides giving the floral host plants of P. oxybeloides, the current study also gives a better understanding of its seasonality along with its relationships with different biotic and abiotic factors under local conditions. These findings can help in maintaining and managing P. oxybeloides population particularly and other native bees in general at local scale.


Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences | 2018

Fitness parameters of Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera; Plutellidae) at four constant temperatures by using age-stage, two-sex life tables

Shafqat Saeed; Waqar Jaleel; Muhammad Nadir Naqqash; Qamar Saeed; Syed Muhammad Zaka; Zahid Mahmood Sarwar; Muhammad Ishtiaq; Mirza Abdul Qayyum; Muhammad Umair Sial; Qurat-Ul-Aine; Muazzama Batool; Khalid Ali Khan; Hamed A. Ghramh; Muhammad Hafeez; Mohammad Javed Ansari; Girish Kumar Sharma

Different temperature zones have significant impact on the population dynamics of Plutella xylostella. Effective management of P. xylostella requires the knowledge of temperature tolerance by different life stages. In the current study, fitness parameters of diamondback moth were reported by using age-stage, two-sex life table traits at four constant temperatures (15, 20, 25 and 30 °C). The life cycle of P. xylostella was significantly longer at 15 °C. The 20 °C level of temperature was found optimal for fecundity, gross reproductive rate (51.74 offspring) and net reproductive rate (44.35 offspring per individual). The adult pre-oviposition period was statistically at par at all four level of temperatures. However, the survival was maximum at 20 °C as compared to other three temperature ranges. Based on the current study, it was concluded that temperature has a great role in population build-up of P. xylostella and effective management tactics should be applied to prevent significant damage to cabbage and other cruciferous crops when the temperature in the field is near 20 °C.


Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences | 2017

Assemblage of pollinator communities in four widely isolated nature reserves of southern Punjab, Pakistan

Shafqat Saeed; Muhammad Amjad Bashir; Khalid Ali Khan; Asif Sajjad; Abid Mahmood Alvi; Sagheer Atta; Mohammad Javed Ansari

Pollinators are key components of the global biodiversity, providing vital ecosystem services of pollination to crops and wild plants. Understanding pollinator assemblage and how it changes spatially is important in order to device effective ecosystem management planning. This is the first empirical study to explore pollinator community structure in four widely isolated nature reserves of southern Punjab, Pakistan, i.e., the central agricultural plain (Pirowal Forest), the Indus delta plain (Ghazi Ghat Wetland), hilly mountains (Fort Munro), and a sandy desert (Lal Suhanra Forest). Six assemblage parameters, i.e., abundance, richness, dominance, evenness, Simpson index, and Shannon-Wiener index, were studied over seven consecutive months (February to August 2012). Maximum abundance and richness of the pollinators were recorded at Ghazi Ghat (1354 individuals and 84 species), followed by Pirowal (1331 individuals and 80 species), Lal Suhanra (1197 individuals and 77 species), and Fort Munro (808 individuals and 65 species). The highest values of Simpson and evenness indexes were recorded at Fort Munro, while the Shannon-Wiener and dominance indexes were highest at Ghazi Ghat and Pirowal. Species richness was highest for bees, while it was lowest for flies, yet the latter were the highest in abundance among the four pollinator groups. The current study is a first account of pollinator assemblage structure in four widely isolated forest reserves of Punjab, Pakistan. This will support ecosystem management planning, and opens doors for further research in order to reveal complexities in pollinator assemblage structure especially in relation with plant communities.


PeerJ | 2016

The effect of blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) on the size and weight of mangos (Mangifera indica L.)

Shafqat Saeed; Muhammad Nadir Naqqash; Waqar Jaleel; Qamar Saeed; Fozia Ghouri

Background: Pollination has a great effect on the yield of fruit trees. Blow flies are considered as an effective pollinator compared to hand pollination in fruit orchards. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of different pollination methods in mango orchards. Methodology: The impact of pollination on quantity and quality of mango yield by blow flies was estimated by using three treatments, i.e., open pollinated trees, trees were covered by a net in the presence of blow flies for pollination, and trees were covered with a net but without insects. Results: The maximum number of flowers was recorded in irregular types of inflorescence, i.e., 434.80 flowers/inflorescence. Fruit setting (bud) was higher in open pollinated mango trees (i.e. 37.00/inflorescence) than enclosed pollination by blow flies (i.e. 22.34/inflorescence). The size of the mango fruit was the highest (5.06 mm) in open pollinated tree than those pollinated by blow flies (3.93 mm) and followed by without any pollinator (3.18 mm) at marble stage. We found that the maximum weight of mango fruit (201.19 g) was in open pollinated trees. Discussion: The results demonstrated that blow flies can be used as effective mango pollinators along with other flies and bees. The blow flies have shown a positive impact on the quality and quantity of mango. This study will be helpful in future and also applicable at farm level to use blow flies as pollinators that are cheap and easy to rear.


Environmental Science and Pollution Research | 2017

Maize plant nitrogen uptake dynamics at limited irrigation water and nitrogen

Hafiz Mohkum Hammad; Wajid Farhad; Farhat Abbas; Shah Fahad; Shafqat Saeed; Wajid Nasim; Hafiz Faiq Bakhat


Crop Protection | 2018

Silicon mitigates biotic stresses in crop plants: A review

Hafiz Faiq Bakhat; Najma Bibi; Zahida Zia; S. Q. Abbas; Hafiz Mohkum Hammad; Shah Fahad; Muhammad Rizwan Ashraf; Ghulam Mustafa Shah; Faiz Rabbani; Shafqat Saeed

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Qamar Saeed

Bahauddin Zakariya University

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Waqar Jaleel

South China Agricultural University

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Mudssar Ali

University of Agriculture

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Hafiz Faiq Bakhat

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology

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Hafiz Mohkum Hammad

COMSATS Institute of Information Technology

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Muhammad Amjad Bashir

Bahauddin Zakariya University

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