Biorational insecticides are composed of natural products, including animals, plants, microbes, and minerals, or are their derivates. The use of biorational products for the management of insect pests has grown intensively in recent years, which has increased their popularity and share on the insecticide global market. Much of these recent increases in the use of biorational insecticides has been derived from the generalized perception that conventional insecticides have undesirable ecological and human health impacts. However, the idea of simply replacing synthetic compounds with biorational insecticides without considering their potential unintended effects can mislead their use and reduce the market life of such pest management tools. A systematic literature survey encompassing over 15 000 scientific manuscripts published between 1945 and 2019 reinforces the bias of focusing on studying the targeted effects while overlooking the potential detrimental effects of biorational products on human health and the environment (e.g. death and negative sublethal effects on pollinators and beneficial arthropods such as parasitoids and predators). Thus, the risks associated with biorational compounds (e.g. control failures, the evolution of resistance, shift in dominance, and outbreaks of secondary or primary pests) need to be revisited and the outcomes of such inquiry could be decisive for their future use in pest management programs. The shortcomings of regulatory processes, knowledge gaps, and the outlook for the use of the biorational products in pest management are discussed.

This study investigated the toxic effects of essential oils isolated from Siparuna guianensis against Aedes aegypti, Culex quinquefasciatus (eggs, larvae, pupae, and adult) and Aedes albopictus (C6/36) cells. The oviposition-deterring activity, egg viability, and repellence activity in the presence of different essential oils concentrations were determined. The essential oils showed high toxicity to all developmental stages of A. aegypti and C. quinquefasciatus. Furthermore, the oils also showed high repellent activity towards the adult stage of mosquitoes (0.025 to 0.550 μg/cm2 skin conferred 100% repellence up to 120 min) and in contact with cultured insect cells (C6/36) induced death possibly by necrosis. The results presented in this work show the potential of S. guianensis essential oils for the development of an alternative and effective method for the natural control of mosquitoes in homes and urban areas.

Background The use of synthetic insecticides is one of the most common strategies for controlling disease vectors such as mosquitos. However, their overuse can result in serious risks to human health, to the environment, as well as to the selection of insecticidal resistant insect strains. The development of efficient and eco-friendly insect control is urgent, and essential oils have been presented as potential alternatives to synthetic insecticides. Moreover, nanoencapsulation techniques can enhance their efficiency by protecting from degradation and providing a controlled release rate. Results We assessed the potential of chitosan nanoparticles in encapsulating Siparuna guianensis essential oil, and maintaining its efficiency and prolonging its activity for the control of Aedes aegypti larvae. The encapsulation was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), with an encapsulation efficiency ranging from 84.8% to 88.0%. Toxicity studies have demonstrated efficacy against mosquito larvae over 50% for 19 days with 100% mortality during the first week. This persistent action is presumably due to the enhanced contact and slow and maintained release conferred by chitosan nanoparticles. Furthermore, the exposure of aquatic non-target organisms (e.g. embryos and small adult fishes) revealed adequate selectivity of these nanoparticles. Conclusions The encapsulation of S . guianensis essential oil in chitosan nanoparticles showed promising potential as a larvicide control alternative and should be considered within strategies for fighting Ae . aegypti .

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O arroz (Oryza sativa L.) é considerado o produto de maior importância econômica em muitos países em desenvolvimento, constituindo-se em alimento básico para cerca de 2,4 bilhões de pessoas (Fageria et al. 1991), e o aumento crescente em seu consumo impõe aos setores produtivos a busca por novas técnicas que possam aumentar a sua produção.Cultivado e consumido em todos os continentes, o arroz se destaca pela produtividade e área de cultivo, desempenhando papel estratégico, tanto econômico quanto social. No Tocantins, esta cultura faz-se presente em terras altas de todo o Estado. Na safra 2007, a produtividade de arroz em terras altas ABSTRACT RESUMO A planta de arroz caracteriza-se por apresentar alta demanda por nutrientes, sendo o nitrogênio o principal fator limitante à sua produtividade. Objetivou-se, com este trabalho, verificar a existência de diferenças entre variedades locais e melhoradas de arroz, quanto à eficiência do uso de nitrogênio, em solo de Cerrado, no município de Gurupi (TO). Os tratamentos envolveram sete cultivares de arroz (BRS-Caiapó, BRS-Bonança, Epagri-114, BRS-Sertaneja, BRS-Primavera, BRSMG-Conai e BRSMG-Curinga), cultivadas em dois ambientes distintos. Para simular ambientes com baixo e alto nível de nitrogênio, foram utilizados 20 kg ha -1 e 120 kg ha -1 de N, respectivamente. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o de blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições. Os caracteres avaliados foram produtividade de grãos, dias para florescimento, dias para maturação, acamamento, altura de plantas e massa de cem grãos. Concluiu-se que o ambiente com alto teor de nitrogênio promoveu maiores alturas de planta, que o ambiente com menor nível de nitrogênio retardou o florescimento das cultivares e que a cultivar BRSMG-Curinga foi a única que respondeu ao acréscimo de adubação, com aumento significativo na produtividade de grãos. PALAVRAS-CHAVE:Oryza sativa L.; estresse mineral; arroz de sequeiro. NITROGEN EFFICIENCY ON UPLAND RICE GENOTYPESRice plants present a high demand for nutrients, being nitrogen the main limiting factor to their yield. The objective of this study was to verify the existence of differences among local and improved rice genotypes, concerning the nitrogen efficiency use, in a Brazilian Savannah soil, in Gurupi, Tocantins State, Brazil. Seven rice cultivars (BRS-Caiapó, BRS-Bonança, Epagri-114, BRS-Sertaneja, BRS-Primavera, BRSMG-Conai, and BRSMG-Curinga) were cultivated in two distinct environments. In order to simulate environments with high and low nitrogen contents, 20 kg ha -1 and 120 kg ha -1 of N were respectively applied. The experiments were carried out in a completely randomized blocks design, with four replications. The features evaluated were grain yield, days for flowering and ripening, lodging, plants height, and 100 grains weight. It was possible to conclude that the environment with high nitrogen content was responsible for the highest plants height, the environment with low nitrogen content delayed the cultivars flowering stage, and the BRSMG-Curinga cul...