Search results for " biological control."
showing 7 items of 37 documents
Interactions between Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AG1 and Aspergillus spp. contaminating food and feedstuffs
2022
Aspergillus is a widespread fungal genus contaminating and degrading food and feeds mostly during storage. Some species can also produce carcinogenic mycotoxins harmful for human and animal health. In this study, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AG1 (BaAG1), active against fungal pathogens was evaluated by in vitro tests against seven Aspergillus species belonging to six Aspergillus sections. After 7 days of incubation at 25°C, mycelial growth of all fungal species was reduced from 46.53% to 60.92%, compared to the controls. The inhibitory effect of BaAG1 cell-free culture filtrate was tested by turbidimetric measurements by using ScanReady P-800 that allow the automatic and continuous monitoring…
The status of Orobanche crenata in Sicily and preliminary observations on Orobanche crenata susceptibility in Vicia faba
2013
Since more than 10 years we are recording Orobanche crenata populations variations and testing traditional remedies to assess their applicability in a low impact agriculture that may be applied also in developing countries. Starting from the observation that often in C Sicily dense fields of Broadbean show lower Broomrape infestation, we did some preliminary observations on Orobanche crenata susceptibility in Vicia faba var. faba and Vicia faba var. equina with different agricultural techniques. First results show a higher resistance of the latter sowed at higher densities.
Landscape scale and local crop protection intensity affect the abundance of the codling moth and its predation and parasitism in apple orchards
2017
International audience; One important feature that may explain variation in pest abundance and pest biocontrol in crops is the land-use intensity in the landscapes. We report results from three studies in which we tried to address this question by assessing whether amount of semi-natural habitat and/or pesticide use at both local and landscape scales affected the abundance of codling moth, its parasitism and predation of sentinel eggs in commercial apple orchards of south-eastern France. Our results indicate that in this landscape there is indeed a significant effect of the pesticide use intensity at both the local and the landscape scales on these variables
Disentangling local agronomic practices from agricultural landscape effects on pest biological control
2019
International audience; The biological control of crop pests is a valuable service provided by various beneficial organisms that are naturally present in agricultural landscapes. Semi-natural habitats has long been recognized as essential to preserve beneficial insects, but proof of their efficiency to enhance biological control of pests remains non conclusive. Here, we examined the variability of landscape effect on biological pest control and the way local agronomic practices may modulate it. Biological pest control was monitored in 80 commercial fields (arable crops and orchards) during three consecutive years in four contrasting French agricultural landscapes distributed along a double …
Toward a better prediction of in-field weed regulation by carabid beetles in European arable landscapes
2019
International audience; Arable agriculture is still highly reliant on herbicides to manage weeds. As part of the necessary shift towards a reduction in pesticide use, the regulatory effect of seed-eating carabid beetles on weeds has received increasing attention in agroecological research. While strong evidence points to carabids exerting a regulatory effect on certain weed species, it is difficult to predict whether a particular assemblage of carabid species will drive the function of weed seed predation in field conditions. There are also uncertainties about which key local and landscape-scale factors affect the function of weed seed predation. In this paper, we report on specific researc…
Antagonism of Bacillus subtilis strain AG1 against vine wood fungal pathogens
2009
Summary. Antagonistic substances produced by a Bacillus subtilis strain (AG1), which were previously found to slow down the growth of esca fungi in vitro, were produced in an artifi cial medium, isolated from the cell-free medium by precipitation and acidifi cation (to less than pH 2.5) and extracted from the precipitate with 96% ethanol. The crude extract employed in antibiotic assays confi rmed, in vitro, the antagonism of B. subtilis against Phaeoacremonium aleophilum and Phaeomoniella chlamydospora, and also showed antifungal activity toward Verticillium dahliae and Botryosphaeria rhodina.
Farming intensity indirectly reduces crop yield through negative effects on agrobiodiversity and key ecological functions
2022
International audience; Farming intensity and landscape heterogeneity influence agrobiodiversity and associated ecological functions. The relative contributions of these agroecosystem components to agricultural production remain unclear because of inter-relations and weather-dependant variations. Using a structural equation modelling approach, we estimated direct and indirect contributions of farming intensity (soil management, pesticide use and fertilisation) and landscape heterogeneity (of semi-natural covers and crop mosaic) to cereal crop production, in 54 fields (mostly wheat), in two years (24 and 30 fields). Indirect effects were evaluated through agrobiodiversity (carabid and plant …