The association between the concentrations of hydroxamic acids, total phenols, and indole alkoloids in winter wheat cultivars with their antibiotic resistance to the grain aphid Sitobion avenae (F.) (Homoptera: Aphididae) was studied. The antibiosis was measured under field conditions using the intrinsic rate of natural increase (rm). The content of the studied allelochemicals was estimated in flag leaf at the anthesis growth stage. Highly significant negative correlations were found between the r m values and the concentrations ofhydroxamic acids (r ---0.905) and total phenols (r = -0.946), but not with indole alkaloids (r = -0.380). The contribution of these allelochemicals to the resistance of winter wheat to S. avenae is discussed.

Monoterpene production, inner bark carbohydrate concentrations, and fir engraver attacks on grand fir were monitored for 3 years following Douglas-fir tussock moth defoliation. Monoterpenes were reduced for 2 years following defoliation. Defoliation caused a reduction in total sugars the first year following defoliation and a reduction in starch the second year. Total sugars and the previous year’s starch concentrations were positively correlated with monoterpene production. The trees which produced the least amounts of monoterpenes were the ones successfully attacked by the fir engraver.

No abstract

Fir engraver and Douglas-fir beetle numbers were monitored during and after an outbreak of the Douglas-fir tussock moth. The population behavior of the two species of bark beetles was similar. Number of emerged offspring/female was highest during the years of defoliation and declined afterward. Total number of beetle attacks peaked 1 to 2 years after defoliation ended and then declined. During and 1 year after defoliation, beetles generally infested trees that had greater than 90% defoliation. After this time infestations were not as strongly associated with heavily defoliated trees. Life tables were constructed for beetles within trees and for beetles per area of forest land. Key mortality factors acting on beetles within trees occurred during the larval and pupal stages. Mortality during adult dispersal was a key factor when beetle density per area of land was considered. Although beetle offspring emerging per dm2 of bark surface was relatively low in defoliated trees, defoliation appeared to reduce host resistance which enabled beetles to successfully attack at lower densities, reducing intraspecific competition, and resulting in increased emergence of offspring/female parent.

Twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), and hop aphid, Phorodon humuli (Schrank) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), are the most important arthropod pests of hop (Humulus lupulus L.) in the Northern Hemisphere. A potential barrier for greater adoption of conservation biological control strategies for spider mites and hop aphid is the extensive use of fungicides for management of hop powdery mildew, Podosphaera macularis (Wallr.:Fr.) U. Braun & S. Takamatsu. Field studies conducted in experimental plots in Oregon and Washington in 2005 and 2006 quantified the effects of powdery mildew fungicide programs (i.e., sulfur, paraffinic oil, and synthetic fungicides) on arthropod pests and natural enemies on hop. Fungicide treatment significantly affected spider mite populations in all four studies. Multiple applications of sulfur fungicides applied before burr development resulted in 1.4-3.3-fold greater spider mite populations during summer. Near the cessation of the sulfur applications, or after a lag of 20-30 d, spider mite populations increased significantly faster on sulfur treated plants compared with water-treated plants in three of four experiments. The effect of paraffinic oil on spider mites was varied, leading to exacerbation of spider mites in Oregon and Washington in 2005, suppression of mites in Oregon in 2006, and no significant effect compared with water in Washington in 2006. Significant relative treatment effects for cone damage due to spider mite feeding were detected in Oregon in 2005 in plots treated with sulfur and paraffinic oil compared with water and synthetic fungicides. Mean populations of hop aphids were similar among treatments in Oregon, although sulfur treatment suppressed hop aphid populations in Washington in 2005 and 2006. Populations of individual predacious insect species and cumulative abundance of macropredators were not consistently suppressed or stimulated by treatments in all trials. However, predatory mite abundance in Washington was affected by fungicide treatments, with plots treated with sulfur consistently having 10-fold fewer phytoseiids per leaf compared with the other treatments. Based on the results of these studies, powdery mildew fungicide programs that minimize or eliminate applications of sulfur and paraffinic oil would tend to conserve predatory mites and minimize the severity of spider mite outbreaks. However, mechanisms other than direct or indirect toxicity to phytoseiid mites likely are associated with exacerbation of spider mite outbreaks on hop.