A field survey as well as market survey on Papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus (Williams and Granara de Willink) was conducted in different regions of Bangladesh to know the infestation level, economic loss, and common management practices used by farmers to control this insect. Field survey revealed that more than one third of the papaya plants were affected by papaya mealybug and papaya growers faced a great economic loss. Severe infestation of papaya mealybug was also found in the nurseries of the survey areas. Market survey indicated that the retailers faced difficulties to sell infested papaya fruit. Seven plants other than papaya were recorded to which papaya mealybug also attacked. The plants were Hog plum (Sponolia spinnata), Chili (Capsicum frutescence), Okra (Abelmoscus esculentus), Brinjal (Solanum melongena), Guava (Psidium melongena), Velvet-apple (Diospyros blancoi) and Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-scinensis). The farmers of the survey area used several chemical insecticides indiscriminately against the papaya mealybug and did not get satisfactory control. Some indigenous pest management tactics were also used against papaya mealybug including the use of wood ash and bark extract of mahogany tree.

Abstract:The population increase has not only increased the fresh water demand but also increased the volume of wastewater generated. Treated or recycled wastewater (RWW) appears to be the only water resource that is increasing as other sources are dwindling. Increasing need for water has resulted in the emergence of domestic wastewater application for agriculture and its relative use. The present study was conducted at

Global climate change has triggered the increased incidence of extreme disasters like cyclone, flood, soil salinity, etc. in the coastal region of Bangladesh. In the recent past, an amplified number of fatalities happened and the greater impact also acted upon the attitude of coastal people. Badarpur Union under Patuakhali Sadar upazila of Patuakhali District was the selected locale of the concerned study. Data for this research work were personally collected from a randomly sampled 121 farmers from different villages of Badarpur union by using an interview schedule. Attitude of the farmers was ascertained through a five-point-Likert type scale. Co-efficient of correlation (r) was computed to explore the relationships between farmers? attitude and their selected characteristics. The findings revealed that 51.2 percent of the farmers had moderately favourable attitude towards climate change effect while 42.1 percent had slightly favourable and 6.6 percent had highly favourable attitude. The correlation test showed that the education, farming experience, farm size, annual income, training received and agricultural knowledge had positive significant relationships with farmers? attitude towards climate change effect on agriculture while the rest of the characteristics had no relationship in the present study. The focus findings of the present study were that, the attitude of the farmers is changing due to changes in the climatic conditions and there was a positive effect of it on agriculture.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2015, 1(2): 367-379

The Queensland fruit fly (Q‐fly), Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt), is a major horticultural pest in Australia. Sterile insect technique (SIT) is increasingly used in area‐wide integrated management of Q‐fly, as well as for eradication of outbreaks in Q‐fly‐free regions. Quality control (QC) procedures are important to monitor and maintain high standards of mass‐reared insects for SIT. Effective use of QC procedures, and the setting of meaningful standards, requires a clear understanding of the short‐term factors that can cause changes in key parameters, such as failures in production systems, and also of the longer‐term effects of domestication on the performance of mass‐reared colonies. Artificial rearing conditions impose substantial selection pressures that can lead to changes in performance, and hence changes in the expected baseline values in QC assays. We investigated the effects of domestication on QC parameters of old and young Q‐fly colonies originating from three distant geographical locations in Australia: Sydney (Generation >100 and 7), Brisbane (Generation 59 and 14) and Cairns (Generation 29 and 9). Standard QC parameters including development time, pupal recovery, pupal weight, adult emergence, sex ratio, flight ability, fecundity, egg hatchability and longevity were assessed. Regardless of their origin, older Q‐fly colonies had lower egg hatchability, shorter developmental time, higher fecundity, higher survival under stress and greater longevity. We emphasize the importance of understanding the effects of continued domestication on QC measures when setting standards for assessment of fruit fly strains used in SIT programmes, particularly when using strains that are regularly replaced or infused with wild stock.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) and male annihilation technique (MAT) are important tools for the control of Queensland fruit fly (Q-fly), Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a major insect pest of horticultural crops in Australia. In MAT, mature Q-fly males are attracted to a toxic bait using Cuelure, a synthetic analog of raspberry ketone (RK). Substantial improvements in control could be achieved by simultaneous use of SIT and MAT, but this requires suppression of the Cuelure response in released sterile flies. Recent studies report that prerelease feeding with RK during the first 48 h after emergence can reduce the response of mature Q-fly males to Cuelure, but the mechanism underpinning this is unknown. Here, to test whether reduced sensory sensitivity to Cuelure is involved, we evaluated the effects of RK supplements, adult diet (yeast-supplemented diet throughout adult stage vs yeast-supplemented diet only for 48 h), and age on electroantennogram (EAG) and electropalpogram (EPG) responses of Q-flies to Cuelure stimuli. EAG responses did not vary with RK supplements, sex, or age of Q-flies fed yeast-supplemented diet throughout the adult stage, but the responses of Q-flies fed other diet regime decreased with age. EPG responses of both sexes of Q-flies were affected by RK supplements, age, and their interaction, but without patterns that might indicate reduced maxillary palp response of RK supplemented flies to Cuelure. Our findings do not support the hypothesis that reduced Cuelure response of male Q-flies fed RK supplements is explained by reduced electrophysiological response in antennae or maxillary palps.