Current Status of Phytoseiid Mites as Biological Control Agents in Latin America and Experiences from Argentina Using Neoseiulus californicus.

Phytoseiidae is a large family of Mesostigmata mites. Members of this family are important biological control agents across the world since they are well-known natural enemies of phytophagous arthropods on cultivated and non-cultivated plants, mainly used to control pest spider mites. However, some can control thrips in greenhouses and fields. Several studies reporting on species in Latin America have been published. The most extensive studies were conducted in Brazil. Phytoseiid mites have been used in different biological control approaches, with two successful classical biological control programs: the biocontrol of the cassava green mite using Typhlodromalus aripo (Deleon) in Africa and the citrus and avocado mites by Euseius stipulatus (Athias-Henriot) in California. Efforts in using phytoseiid mites to enforce biological control of different phytophagous mites are being made in Latin America. Till now, only a few successful examples are available on this topic. This fact highlights the need to continue the investigations on the ability of other unknown species to be used in biological control through close collaboration between researchers and biocontrol companies. Various challenges remain, such as developing better rearing systems to provide a large number of predators to farmers in various crop systems, training farmers to improve their understanding of the use of predators, and chemical control aimed at conservation biological control, looking forward to increasing the use of the phytoseiid mites as biological control agents in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Regulatory Frameworks for the Access and Use of Genetic Resources in Latin America.

The Nagoya Protocol is a legal framework focused on the Access and Benefit Sharing of genetic resources, including Biological Control Agents. In order to comply with the Nagoya Protocol, countries in Latin America are establishing legal frameworks for access to genetic resources. Scientists face the challenges of the bureaucratic and administrative burden to obtain the access permits to study the biodiversity present in Latin American countries, which include the evaluation of biological control agents that can be used in sustainable production programs. In order to avoid the demotivation of scientists and students to work on biological control by blocking the opportunities to get new bioproducts, it is important to increase the communication between the regulatory authorities and the scientific community, to ensure the establishment of an effective structure and mechanisms to facilitate the process and reduce the time needed to obtain the access permits. On the other hand, the establishment of regional platforms for the exchange of information and harmonization of procedures can contribute to reinforce the collaboration among Latin American countries and facilitate regional studies and biocontrol activities. In this article, the legal framework in place in different countries in Latin America will be discussed and some possible solutions and ways forward to the major challenges observed will be presented.

The effects of thiamethoxam on coffee seedling morphophysiology and Neotropical leaf miner (Leucoptera coffeella) infestations.

BACKGROUND: Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) is one of the main commodities produced in Brazil. Insecticides like the (systemic) neonicotinoid thiamethoxam are widely used to suppress pest populations during coffee production, in particular the Neotropical leaf miner (Leucoptera coffeella Guérin-Mèneville & Perrottet, 1842) (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae). In addition to its efficacy against this pest species, thiamethoxam is also thought to be a bioactivator of plant metabolism, but has not yet been tested for such activity. Thus, the objectives of the present study were (1) to assess the concentration-response effects of thiamethoxam on the vegetative vigor of coffee seedlings (C. arabica 'Catuaí 144' cultivar) at different concentrations [2, 20, 40, 80 and 200 mg active ingredient (a.i.) kg-1 ] applied via soil drenching and (2) to evaluate if the plant response interferes with the effectiveness of thiamethoxam in controlling leaf miner populations. The morphophysiological traits of the coffee seedlings were evaluated 20, 40, 60 and 80 days after application, and leaf miner infestations were recorded starting 20 days after the insecticide application with the releasing of adults, and every 20 days afterwards. RESULTS: The results indicated that thiamethoxam has a deleterious effect on the morphophysiological traits of the plants compromising their development with increase in concentrations. However, leaf area exhibited a different pattern with a peak at 50 mg a.i. kg-1 consistent with thiamethoxam-induced hormesis (i.e. biphasic response with stimulatory effect at sublethal range of a toxic substance at the higher concentration). Nonetheless, such bioactivator effect did not affect thiamethoxan effectiveness against the leaf miner even at the lowest concentration tested. CONCLUSION: Thiamethoxan exhibited bioactivation effect on leaf at low concentration, but without compromising efficacy against leaf miner populations. Therefore, its proposed metabolism-boosting properties may encourage the unnecessary use of this insecticide, potentially leading to higher selection for insecticide resistance and an eventual decline in its effectiveness against the Neotropical leaf miner. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

A Hybrid Artificial Intelligence Model for Aeneolamia varia (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) Populations in Sugarcane Crops.

Sugarcane spittlebugs are considered important pests in sugarcane crops ranging from the southeastern United States to northern Argentina. To evaluate the effects of climate variables on adult populations of Aeneolamia varia (Fabricius) (Hemiptera: Cercopidae), a 3-yr monitoring study was carried out in sugarcane fields at week-long intervals during the rainy season (May to November 2005-2007). The resulting data were analyzed using the univariate Forest-Genetic method. The best predictive model explained 75.8% variability in physiological damage threshold. It predicted that the main climatic factors influencing the adult population would be, in order of importance, evaporation; evapotranspiration by 0.5; evapotranspiration, cloudiness at 2:00 p.m.; average sunshine and relative humidity at 8:00 a.m. The optimization of the predictive model established that the lower and upper limits of the climatic variables produced a threshold in the population development rate of 184 to 267 adult insects under the agroecological conditions of the study area. These results provide a new perspective on decision-making in the preventive management of A. varia adults in sugarcane crops.