Tomato flu outbreak: An overview

Tomato flu, also known as tomato fever, is a newly identified virus in India that causes high temperatures, extreme fatigue, and aches and pains. Case studies have revealed that immunocompetent people can contract the virus;therefore, this may be a new Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease strain (HFMD). Although tomato fever shows symptoms similar to COVID-19, the virus is not related to SARS-CoV. Tomato fever is a self-limiting illness and there is no specific treatment/vaccination till date. The rare viral infection is in endemic state and is considered non-life threatening. Because of the fear of emergence of fourth wave and dreadful experience of COVID-19, vigilant management is desirable to prevent spread of tomato fever.

Precision biological pest control of horticultural crops. (L'Accademia per il post Covid-19.)

Precision biological control of horticultural pests. Modern agriculture is developing new strategies and technologies to reduce the environmental impact and to fit new market requirements. In this scenario, a forthcoming major challenge is the reduction of insecticide and acaricide use. Herein, we propose a precision agriculture approach for managing arthropod pests in greenhouses, based on the use of artificial intelligence for monitoring and forecasting pest outbreaks, to improve timing and efficacy of biological control agent releases.

Survivability and Benefit Evaluation of Streptomyces sp. and Trichoderma sp. as Active Ingredients of Biopesticides and Soil Fertility Enhancer in Shallot Fields at Wates Village Tulungagung

The purpose of research on the Farmer Empowerment Program in Wates Village is to increase knowledge in the field of sustainable agriculture and transfer of technology for the application of biopesticides containing the Biological Control Agent (APH) Streptomyces sp., Trichoderma sp. combined with shallot cultivation technology in the village of Wates Tulungagung. Innovative methods and Participatory Action Research (PAR) are used to encourage transformative action, by involving community members as PAR implementers in describing the types of plants being treated and applying them during the Covid-19 pandemic in the Wates village, Tulungagung District. The results of the evaluation and monitoring of the use of APH as a biopesticide and fungicide to control moler disease caused a decrease in the population of microorganisms, the population of Trichoderma sp. was absent (o) but Streptomyces sp. increase. Giving APH proved that microorganisms act as decomposers that increase the availability of N and P nutrients through their ability to accelerate the decomposition of organic matter given at the beginning of planting. The K nutrient content in the soil before and after treatment did not differ.

Antiviral effect and anti-COVID-19 potential of immunobiotics

Immunobiotics, a group of probiotics, have the effect of anti-infection by regulating immune function, which can be added in in foods or used to make adjuvants or medicines (biologics). Immunobiotics can stimulate the mucosal immune system of the body, regulate innate and acquired immunity and exert non-specific anti-microbial (bacterial and viral) infection effects through oral, nasal mucosa, sublingual and other routes, but the immune regulation function of immunobiotics is species-specific. Oral administration of Lactobacillus plantarum GUANKE stimulated the increase and maintenance of SARS-CoV-2 neutralization antibodies in mice even 6 months after immunization. When L. plantarum GUANKE was given immediately after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, the level of SARS-COV-2 specific neutralizing antibody in bronchoalveolar lavage increased by 8 times in mice, which improved the local and systematic cellular immune response to SARS-CoV-2 of mice. Clinical studies have found that immunobiotics have the auxiliary effect in the treatment of COVID-19 by mitigating the symptoms and increase the level of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibody of the patients. It is necessary to conduct research and evaluation for the appropriate guideline of immunobiotics use as erly as possible to provide a new option for the prevention and control of COVID-19.

17th Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP-17), Online, 25-30 July 2021

Originally, the 17th Symposium on Insect-Plant Relationships (SIP-17) was scheduled to take place in Leiden, The Netherlands, in July 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the symposium was postponed to July 2021 and held in an exclusively online format. This exceptional edition has resulted in four strong contributions to the journal. It is with great pleasure that we now present a themed issue including the proceedings of SIP-17, supplemented with eight regular articles within the subject of insect-plant relationships.

Proof of concept for eliminating Aedes aegypti production by means of integrated control including turtles, copepods, tilapia, larvicides, and community participation in Monte Verde, Honduras.

Monte Verde, a peri­urban squatter community near San Pedro Sula, virtually eliminated Aedes aegypti production in all known larval habitats: wells; water storage containers including pilas (open concrete water tanks used for laundry), 200-liter drums, 1000-liter plastic "cisterns," buckets; and objects collecting rainwater. The project began in 2016 when Monte Verde was overrun with dengue, Zika, and chikungunya. During more than a year of experimentation, Monte Verde residents crafted an effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly toolkit that was inexpensive but required full community participation. Biological control with copepods, turtles, and tilapia was at the core of the toolkit, along with a mix of other methods such as getting rid of unnecessary containers, scrubbing them to remove Ae. aegypti eggs, and covering them to exclude mosquitoes or rainwater. Environmentally friendly larvicides also had a limited but crucial role. Key design features: (1) toolkit components known to be nearly 100% effective at preventing Ae. aegypti production when fitted to appropriate larval habitats; (2) using Ae. aegypti larval habitats as a resource by transforming them into "egg sinks" to drive Ae. aegypti population decline; (3) dedicated community volunteers who worked with their neighbors, targeting 100% coverage of all known Ae. aegypti larval habitats with an appropriate control method; (4) monthly monitoring in which the volunteers visited every house to assess progress and improve coverage as an ongoing learning experience for both volunteers and residents. Taking pupae as an indicator of Ae. aegypti production, from September 2018 to the end of the record in December 2021 (except for a brief lapse during COVID lockdown in 2020), the monthly count of pupae fluctuated between zero and 0.6% of the 22,984 pupae counted in the baseline survey at the beginning of the project. Adult Ae. aegypti declined to low numbers but did not disappear completely. There were no recognizable cases of dengue, Zika, or chikungunya after June 2018, though the study design based on a single site did not provide a basis for rigorous confirmation that Monte Verde's Ae. aegypti control program was responsible. Nonetheless, Monte Verde's success at eliminating Ae. aegypti production can serve as a model for extending this approach to other communities. Key ingredients for success were outside stimulation and facilitation to foster shared community awareness and commitment regarding the problem and its solution, enduring commitment of local leadership, compatibility of the toolkit with the local community, overcoming social obstacles, rapid results with "success breeding success," and building resilience.

Deficit Water Irrigation in an Almond Orchard Can Reduce Pest Damage

Irrigated almond orchards in Spain are increasing in acreage, and it is pertinent to study the effect of deficit irrigation on the presence of pests, plant damage, and other arthropod communities. In an orchard examined from 2017 to 2020, arthropods and diseases were studied by visual sampling under two irrigation treatments (T1, control and T2, regulated deficit irrigation (RDI)). Univariate analysis showed no influence of irrigation on the aphid Hyalopterus amygdali (Blanchard) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) population and damage, but Tetranychus urticae Koch (Trombidiformes: Tetranychidae) damage on leaves was significantly less (50–60% reduction in damaged leaf area) in the T2 RDI treatment compared to the full irrigation T1 control in 2019 and 2020. Typhlocybinae (principal species Asymmetrasca decedens (Paoli) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)) population was also significantly lower under T2 RDI treatment. Chrysopidae and Phytoseiidae, important groups in the biological control of pests, were not affected by irrigation treatment. The most important diseases observed in the orchard were not, in general, affected by irrigation treatment. The multivariate principal response curves show significant differences between irrigation strategies in 2019 and 2020. In conclusion, irrigation schemes with restricted water use (such as T2 RDI) can help reduce the foliar damage of important pests and the abundance of other secondary pests in almond orchards.