Lectin Mushroom Myzus persicaePenicillum chrysogenum Purification a b s t r a c t Several Ascomycetes fungi are commonly used in bio-industries and provide available industrial residues for lectin extraction to be valuable. A lectin from Penicillium chrysogenum, named PeCL, was purified from a fungal culture using gel-filtration chromatography column.PeCL was found to be a mannose-specific lectin by haemagglutination activity towards rabbit erythrocyte cells and was visualised on SDS-PAGE gel. Purified PeCL fraction was delivered via artificial diet to Myzus persicae aphid and was demonstrated to be aphicidal at 0.1 % with higher toxic efficiency than a known mannose-binding lectin Concanavalin A (ConA).A fast and efficient way to purify PeCL and a potential use in pest control is described.

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Two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, is one of the most important pests of agricultural products that have a global distribution. Now, the control is dependent on the use of chemical pesticides. The effects of the sublethal concentrations (LC 10 and LC 25 ) of the essential oil of Cinnamomum zeylanicum were evaluated on some parameters of the life table of the pest, at the constant temperature of 30°C, relative humidity of 40 ± 5% and photoperiod of 16L: 8D. Our results showed that the essential oil of cinnamon is effective on female adult stage. Lethal concentration at which 50% mortality (LC 50 ) for the essential oils is from C. zeylanicum on female adult mite was 23.39 μl/L air. Sublethal concentrations of the essential oil of C. zeylanicum also impair the natural biology of the mite. Concentrations of sublethal of essential oil decreased age-specific fertility (m x ) of T. urticae compared with the control. Sublethal concentrations (LC 10 and LC 25 ) have reduced the life expectancy (e x ) in egg stage. Sublethal effects of the essential oil of C. zeylanicum and its impact on T. urticae management are discussed.

The sunn pest, Eurygaster integriceps Puton (Hemiptera: Scutelleridae), is the most important insect pest of wheat and barley. The population management of this pest is of major concern to wheat producers. One of the potential control strategies is to use entomopathogenic fungi. This study evaluates the pathogenicity of the fungus Metarhizium anisopliae var. major (Metchnikoff) Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) on the sunn pest, E. integriceps. Five concentrations of the fungus were utilized, ranging from 1×104 to 1×108 conidia/mL, accompanied by controls. Fifth instar nymphs and adults (a migratory summer population and a diapausing population) previously exposed to fungi were sown to isolate the fungi, and the growth parameters were analyzed. A direct spray technique was used to expose the isolates to the E. integriceps. The experiment was repeated four times, and mortalities of the insects for all treatments were recorded daily. The results showed that the mortality of infected nymphs was significantly higher than the mortality of control nymphs. Also, the longevity of infected adults was lower than the controls. The results also showed that diapausing adults of the sunn pest were much more susceptible to infection than the summer adults. Estimated LC50 values for the M14 isolate were 1.4 × 106, 1.4 ×10 5 , and 2.3 × 103 spores/mL against the aestivation population, the diapausing population, and 5th instar nymphs, respectively. Estimated LT50 values using 108 spores/mL of the Mm isolate on the aestivation and diapausing populations were 11.9 and 5.11 days, respectively. The results demonstrated that M. anisoplaie was effective on all of stages of E. integriceps. In addition, the nymphal stage was more susceptible than the adults.