Arthropod pests of pistachios, their natural enemies and management

Abstract

Commercial pistachio cultivation and production began about a century ago in Iran. The size of this industry has gradually increased and the pistachio nut production in Iran is now the largest worldwide, although it has declined over last few years due to long periods of harsh drought, the mismanagement of water resources and the impact of climate change. Research on pests and diseases was started in the 1940s due to the demands of the growers who were facing economic damage by herbivorous insects. Much research has been undertaken over the last 75 years to improve production procedures and the present article summarises the available information on pistachio pests, their natural enemies and management.

Stink bug egg parasitoids (Hymenoptera, Scelionidae) associated with pistachio in Iran and description of a new species: Trissolcus darreh Talamas

“…Pistachio nuts, Pistacia vera L., comprise one of the most important and valuable crops cultivated in Mediterranean countries (Greece, Turkey, Spain, Italy, and Tunisia), the Middle East (Syria and Iran), Australia and the southwestern United States (Arizona and California) (Kaska 1994;Sheibani 1995;Ferguson 2016). Pistachios are the major agricultural product in the tropical regions of Iran, especially in Rafsanjan, Kerman Province, which is the country's main pistachio producing area (Mehrnejad 2020). Pistachio is one of the most important export products in Iran and plays a key role in the agricultural economy.…”

“…The activity of various pests is an important factor that can reduce yield in Iran's pistachio orchards and is much more significant than other harmful biotic factors, such as nematodes and fungal and bacterial pathogens. Many phytophagous Hemiptera in the families Pentatomidae, Miridae and Lygaeidae are considered worldwide pistachio pests and can cause remarkable damage to the fruits during the growing season (Mehrnejad 2020). Based on previous studies, pentatomid stink bugs are a key pest group and ranked as the second most important pests in pistachio orchards (Mehrnejad et al 2013).…”

Disruption of Host-Symbiont Associations for the Symbiotic Control and Management of Pentatomid Agricultural Pests—A Review

“…pathogen, Nematospora coryli Peglion, a pathogen of pistachio nuts (Pourkhatoon et al, 2016). This group of stink bugs includes the species Acrosternum arabicum Wagner, Acrosternum heegeri Fieber, Acrosternum millieri Mulsant & Rey, Apodiphus amygdali Germar, Brachynema germari Kolenati, and Brachynema segetum Jakovlev (Kashkouli et al, 2019a;Mehrnejad, 2020). Most of information concerning the associations with gut primary symbionts regards B. germari and Acrosternum spp., in consideration of their primary importance as pests (Kashkouli et al, 2019a).…”

“…This family encompasses a number of agricultural pests that are responsible for huge economic losses worldwide, as they feed on a variety of fruits and seeds, seriously affecting crop yield and quality (Conti et al, 2020). Heavy attacks are recorded on almost all economically relevant crops, including commodity crops such as cotton, rice, maize, soybean, and wheat (Leskey and Nielsen, 2018;Zerbino and Panizzi, 2019;Defensor et al, 2020;Sosa-Gómez et al, 2020), fruit trees (Leskey and Nielsen, 2018;Mi et al, 2020;Powell, 2020), nuts (Bosco et al, 2018;Mehrnejad, 2020), and vegetables (Palumbo et al, 2016;Leskey and Nielsen, 2018). Furthermore, the invasive potential of many pentatomid species, such as Halyomorpha halys (Stål), Nezara viridula L., Erthesina fullo Thunberg, or Bagrada hilaris (Burmeister), makes them major agricultural threats in several areas outside their native range (Palumbo et al, 2016;Leskey and Nielsen, 2018;Conti et al, 2020;Mi et al, 2020).…”

Overwintering insect (Arthropoda: Insecta) biodiversity in pistachio orchards of the Middle Euphrates Valley, Turkey

“…reported that O. conglobata is one of the important natural enemies of insect pests in pistachio orchards Mehrnejad (2020). reported that Polydrosus davatchii Hoffman, Hippodamia variegata Goeze, Scymnus spp.…”