Susete do Rocio Chiarello Penteado

The Woodwasp Sirex noctilio in Brazil: Monitoring and Control

Until 1988, a small number of outbreaks of native pests had been recorded in the 1.84 million ha of pine plantations in Brazil. Most of these stands were planted with little species diversity, and at high density and received inadequate management. In 1988, an outbreak of Sirex noctilio was first recorded in southern Brazil and the insect currently infests 450,000 ha in the southern and southeast regions. The presence of Sirex has the potential to cause losses of up to

Seleção de isolados de Verticillium lecanii para o controle de Cinara atlantica

US30 million annually. The discovery of this insect resulted in an immediate change in silvicultural practices used in forest plantations, with the introduction of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as a part of the Forest Management Programs. In 1989, the National Programme of Woodwasp Control (PNCVM) was established. This programme has a broad scope and includes the early detection and monitoring of the spread of Sirex through the use of trap trees (trees artificially stressed with herbicides) and ground inspections. Appropriate silvicultural practices, especially stand thinning, preventing competition and providing healthy growing conditions are also an important aspect of control programs. Curative measures used are based on biological control using the nematode parasite Deladenus (=Beddingia) siricidicola, introduced from Australia, which sterilizes the females and reaches up to 100% parasitism. The egg parasitoid Ibalia leucospoides has also been introduced and can reach about 25% parasitism. Two other parasites, Rhyssa persuasoria and Megarhyssa nortoni were introduced into Brazil between 1996 and 1998, and in 2003, from Australia. Establishment of these two parasites has not been confirmed. This combination of biological control and appropriate silvicultural practices are essential to keep the Sirex population under control in Brazil.

Life Table Analysis and Consumption Capacity for Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Feeding on Cinara atlantica (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the pathogenicity of Verticillium lecanii isolates against Cinara atlantica, and the LC50 of the best strain. For selection tests, nymphs of C. atlantica were placed on individual pine seedling with 20 isolates and one control, in a total of 21 treatments and ten replicates. For the LC50 estimation it was used the CG 904 strain with six concentrations and ten replicates. VL 6, CG 902 and VL 2 produced the highest mortality, of 72.22%, 67.34% and 67.31%, respectively. The control plot showed mortality of 15.6%. The LC50 of the CG 904 strain indicated mortality of 100% at the concentration of 108 conidia mL-1; LC50, 2x105 conidia mL-1; and LT50, 4.4 days.

Efeito da aplicação do silício em plantas de Pinus taeda L., sobre a biologia e morfologia de Cinara atlantica (Wilson) (Hemiptera: Aphididae)

Abstract The objective of this study was to analyze the development, reproductive parameters and consumption capacity of Harmonia axyridis, using Cinara atlantica as food. The average time of egg incubation was 3 d, duration of larval instars was 3.5, 2, 2.2 and 4.1 d, respectively, and duration of the pupal stage was 5.8 d. Longevity was 85.6 d and the life cycle lasted 107.2 d. Egg viability was 92.7% and all stages had 100% survival. Adults consumed, on average, 1.892 aphids. Pre-oviposition, oviposition and post-oviposition periods lasted 6.8, 44.3, and 32.9 d, respectively. Fertility was 633.2 eggs per female. Each instar consumed, on average, 19.4, 24.8, 49.7 and 188.9 aphids, respectively. The life table results, together with biological data, indicated that Harmonia axyridis is an efficient predator of C. atlantica, having high fertility, egg viability, rapid development and high levels of predation.

Danos qualitativos e quantitativos de Cinara atlantica (Wilson) (Hemiptera, Aphididae) em mudas de Pinus taeda Linnaeus (Pinaceae) 1

Objetivou-se avaliar o efeito da aplicacao de silicio em parâmetros biologicos e na morfometria de C. atlantica. O bioensaio foi conduzido em sala climatizada com temperatura de 20oC, 70% UR e fotofase de 12 horas, com delineamento experimental inteiramente casualizado. Femeas adultas obtidas apos a ultima ecdise ninfal foram transferidas para as unidades experimentais (gaiolas de PVC) e, entre o 4o e 5o dia reprodutivo, a femea foi retirada e dentre os descendentes produzidos nesse periodo, um foi escolhido aleatoriamente para a conducao do ensaio. Nos tratamentos com a aplicacao de diferentes doses do acido silicico, ocorreram prolongamento da fase ninfal e reducao na performance biologica, afetando assim o ciclo biologico do pulgao. Em relacao a capacidade reprodutiva do inseto, obtiveram-se, para os tratamentos com aplicacao do acido silicico, valores distintos da testemunha que apresentou numero elevado de ninfas/femea. Em relacao a morfometria, dentre os quinze caracteres avaliados, apenas a largura da cabeca e o comprimento total da antena de C. atlantica, que foram mantidos em plantas com aplicacao de silicio, diferiram estatisticamente da testemunha.

Evaluation of the Pinus taeda quality using ultrasound

The giant conifer aphid, Cinara atlantica (Wilson, 1919) (Hemiptera, Aphididae), is one of the main insect pests on pine reforestation areas in Southern Brazil, nowadays. Since there is very few information about its damage, the objective of this study was to characterize and quantify the damage of C. atlantica on Pinus taeda. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse, using a random design, with three infestation levels: 0 (control), 10 ± 2, 20 ± 2 and 50 ± 2 aphids on each P. taeda seedling of 90 and 150 days old, with 20 replicates/treatment. The main damage observed were stunting, twisting, oversprouting and large amount of sooty mold on honeydew. The basal diameter was significantly reduced by 16.1% under 50 ± 2 aphids/plant of 90 days compared to the control. For the 150 days old seedlings, there was no statistical difference between the infestation levels. The plant height reduction was of 24.4% for the 90 days old plants with 50 ± 2 aphids and 32.6% for the 150 days old with 20 ± 2 aphids.

Wood characterization using the power spectral density and phase velocity of ultrasonic signals

The pinus is a type of wood that is widely used as feedstock for the production of softwood pulp and higher quality paper, boards, MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard), OSB (Oriented Standard Board), plywood, furniture and others. The main problem for the pinus is the attack by the wood wasps (Sirex noctilio F., 1793) (Hymenoptera; Siricidae) that damages the wood due to galleries built by the wasps larvae. The use of nondestructive techniques to assess the quality and to evaluate mechanically the wood has been the focus of many studies and is certainly an essential tool to decrease the production costs. This work aimed to evaluate the damage due to the infestation of S. noctilio in Pinus taeda L. using ultrasound. The tests have been carried out in the through transmission mode, using a pulser-receiver, two pairs of ultrasound transducers (50 kHz and 100 kHz of central frequencies for each), a digital oscilloscope and a portable microcomputer for data storage. The initial tests have been done using seven logs of pinus samples (lengths in the range 0.70 - 0.94 m and diameters 0.09 - 0.18 m). The transducers were positioned in the samples to measure the ultrasound propagation velocity and the attenuation in the axial, radial (lower, middle and upper parts of the logs), longitudinal (middle and upper parts), inclined at approximately 45 degrees (middle and upper parts), longitudinal/transversal (middle and upper parts) and inclined/transversal (middle and upper parts) modes. The initial results of the 960 tests (430 with each pair of transducers) that have been done with the pinus samples have shown that the infested samples presented a decrease in the propagation velocity and an increase in the attenuation when compared to the control sample results. The initial results showed that the ultrasound technique can help the quality evaluation of P. taeda and to detect the infestation of wood wasps. Further tests should be made with a larger number of samples to evaluate the elastic modulus and other ultrasound parameters. The results will be used to define a novel test protocol to be used for material characterization in the agronomical area.

Isolamento de DNA genômico de indivíduo de nematoide parasita de insetos: estudo de caso de Deladenus

The application of non-destructive testing (NDT) in the analysis of trees in forest plantations permits the evaluation of the wood quality, the internal defects in development or pest attack and its characterization for application as solid wood and its products. These techniques have been constantly improved with the use of computers, electronics and agricultural control levels in order to provide tools to the specialists in integrated management. The ultrasound has been used in agriculture as NDT to determine the elasticity modulus of juvenile and mature wood of pinus and other species. This study aimed to the evaluation of new techniques for characterization of wood using parameters such as the power spectral density (PSD) and phase velocity of ultrasonic signals propagating in wood. The tests were performed using a pair of ultrasonic transducers with central frequency of 50 kHz (083-067-038, GE) which were connected to an ultrasonic pulser/receiver (5077PR, Olympus). The transmitting transducer was coupled to the samples of pinus using ultrasound gel and excited with negative pulses of short duration (5 μs) and high amplitude (-400 V) to generate longitudinal and shear waves. The ultrasound signals that propagated through the samples were received by the receiving transducer, amplified (20 to 40 dB), acquired in a digital scope (MSO4104B, Tektronix) and then transferred to a microcomputer. The tests have been done with 10 reference samples (healthy) and 10 attacked by wood wasps, with small holes in the bark. The transducers were placed on the samples in the axial, radial and inclined modes. The data were processed using the Matlab (Mathworks Inc.) to determine the power spectral density (PSD), the root mean square deviation index (cRMSDdB) and the phase velocity between the reference and attacked samples. The cRMSDdB calculated between the PSD of the reference and the attacked samples were generally higher for samples with higher degree of damage, however, in some cases, they were lower due to the presence of wood knots. The phase velocities were calculated in the frequency range 1-200 kHz and generally show higher values for the reference samples. The group velocities were also calculated and the results were in the range 1200-3000 m/s, indicating that these parameters can be used for wood characterization.

Pulgão do Pinus: nova praga florestal

Populational studies involve single individual DNA extraction in order to grant further genotyping data. In the case of some parasitic nematodes, the reduced dimensions and high individual number per infestation makes individual genotyping a difficult task. Aiming the development of a protocol we performed adjustments in available methods in order to acquire the best gain in purity and concentration of genomic DNA. Single specimens were digested in Worm Lysis Buffer and submitted to PCR amplification as a concept test. It was possible to obtain good amount and concentration of DNA from individuals. Quality was sufficient to grant subsequent ITS1 sequencing. Isolamento de DNA genômico de indivíduo de nematoide parasita de insetos: estudo de caso de Deladenus Resumo Estudos populacionais envolvem a extração de DNA de um único indivíduo para permitir a genotipagem. No caso de alguns nematoides parasíticos, suas dimensões reduzidas e o grande número de indivíduos por infestação tornam a genotipagem difícil. Com o objetivo de desenvolver um protocolo, foram feitos ajustes em métodos já disponíveis, visando melhor ganho em pureza e concentração de DNA genômico. Espécimes foram digeridos em tampão de digestão de verme e submetidos à amplificação por PCR, como prova de conceito. Foi possível a obtenção de boa quantidade e concentração de DNA de indivíduos. A qualidade foi suficiente para garantir o sequenciamento da região ITS1. Pesquisa Florestal