Search results for "orchards"

Can Mating Disruption Be a Possible Route to Control Plum Fruit Moth in Mediterranean Environments?

2020

Simple Summary Grapholita funebrana is a main pest of plum throughout the Palearctic region. The management of this pest is generally carried out with chemical insecticides. In this study we investigated the suitability of the mating disruption as alternative method of control of this pest. Experiments were carried out in organic plum orchards during 2012 and 2014. Trap catches and fruit sampling were carried out to estimate the efficacy of this technique in reducing males catch and fruit infestation. The results indicated that the males caught in traps placed in the treatment plots was always significantly lower than untreated plots. The chemical analysis of the pheromone emission from the…

Investigationes on population dynamics and mortality of Phyllocnistis citrella in western Sicily (Italy)

2006

Population dynamics and mortality of P. citrella, and its natural enemies with parasitism levels in two different citrus orchards, sprayed and unsprayed, were investigated. The effect of host density on percentage parasitism and mortality was calculated by regression analyses. In both sites, over the 3-years period from 2002 to 2004, P. citrella was detected during the summer months and it was not found during the first flush. Population levels were low, never exceeding 3.0/leaf. P. citrella began to increase from June in 2002-2003 and from July in 2004. The monthly percentage parasitism of P. citrella in sprayed orchard fluctuated from 0 to 19%, while in unsprayed from 0 to 30%. High morta…

Detection of crop water status in mature olive orchards using vegetation spectral measurements

2013

The impact of agricultural management on selected soil properties in citrus orchards in Eastern Spain: A comparison between conventional and organic …

2017

The agricultural management of citrus orchards is changing from flood irrigated managed orchards to drip irrigated organic managed orchards. Eastern Spain is the oldest and largest European producer of citrus, and is representative of the environmental changes triggered by innovations in orchard management. In order to determine the impact of land management on different soil quality parameters, twelve citrus orchards sites were selected with different land and irrigation management techniques. Soil samples were taken at two depths, 0-2. cm and 5-10. cm for studying soil quality parameters under the different treatments. Half of the studied orchards were organically managed and the other si…

Qanat, gebbie and water sources: the last refuge for the malacologican freshwater fauna in Palermo (Sicily, Italy)

2017

The surroundings of Palermo were characterized, over the centuries, by the presence of many natural environments of great ecological and faunal importance. These environments were placed in a context characterized by minimal and sustainable urban development and large agriculture areas, dedicated to the development of tree crops such as citrus and orchards. These crops were supported by an imposing irrigation system that, using natural resources such as watercourses, wells and springs, collected and distributed water in soils through tanks, gebbie, qanat, irrigation channels (saje), etc. Fresh water mollusks, like many other animal and vegetable organisms, spread from the natural freshwater…

First data on the repellent activity of essential oils of Citrus limon towards medfly (Ceratitis capitata)

2012

The biological activity of peel essential oils of two Sicilian cultivars of C. limon, ‘Interdonato’ and ‘Lunario’, was investigated by electrophysiological recordings (EAG) and field trials on Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera Tephritidae). The EAG data showed a remarkable dose-response relationship and a low activation threshold dose (10-3M) for both essential oil extracts. In field tests, essential oils showed a good repellent and antiovipositional activi- ty on ‘Navelina’ oranges, and in particular the essential oils of ‘Lunario’ pro- vided the same results of kaolin. Potential applications of essential oils from C. limon cultivars against C. capitata in organic farming are discuss…

SSR-based DNA fingerprints reveal the genetic diversity of Sicilian olive (Olea europaeaL.) germplasm

2005

Twelve published simple sequence repeat (SSR; microsatellite) markers, belonging to the ssrOeUA-DCA, GAPU and UDO series, were tested in a panel of 46 accessions of olive germplasm belonging to 30 unique cultivars collected in seven Provinces of Sicily. Four well-known reference olive cultivars were also added. The analysis was carried out on an automatic capillary sequencer using fluorescent dyes, and fragment sizes were determined using internal standards. The results allowed us to rank the SSRs assayed according to their information content and reproducibility. Up to 115 alleles were identified (119, if those unique to sport mutations were included), the frequency of which allowed geneti…

Assessment of the Vegetation Parameters of Almond and Vine Plants for Designing a Compact Tractor

2018

The aim of this research is to assess the vegetation parameters of almond and vine plants, aimed at designing a compact tractor suitable for these orchards. The research is part of the Italian project TRACLAS, involving the Universities of Palermo, Milan, Bari, “Tuscia” of Viterbo and Agricultural Research and Economics - Research Unit for Agricultural Engineering (CREA-ING) of Treviglio (Bergamo). Based on the results of the surveys carried out in a sample of almond and vine farms, it was possible to define the vegetation parameters that will allow to design a very low and narrow tractor equipped with a fixed ROPS and suitable for these orchards.

Effectiveness of spinosad and mineral oil for control of Grapholita funebrana Treitschke in organic plum orchards

2012

An experiment was conducted in an organic plum orchard in Sicily to evaluate the damage caused by the plum moth Grapholita funebrana (Treitschke) to three plum cultivars (Angeleno, Friar, and Stanley) and to evaluate plum moth control provided by mineral oil applied every 20 days (Moil), spinosad applied every 10 days (S10), or spinosad and mineral oil applied alternately (S/Moil). Treatment application began when eggs were first observed on fruits. S10 and S/Moil effectively reduced plum moth damage on all cultivars but Moil did not. Plum moth infestation was significantly lower on Stanley than on Friar and Angeleno.

Landscape composition and farming practices affect the abundance of the codling moth and its predation and parasitism in apple orchards

2016

National audience; There is increasing recognition that landscape management could contribute to sustainable pest control. However, while many studies indicate that the proportion of semi-natural habitat over the landscape correlates positively with the abundance and diversity of natural enemies in elds, results are more equivocal concerning the reduction of pest abundance. This last result is possibly due to the diversity of land-use intensity in the landscapes. In the present studies, we assessed whether amount of semi-natural habitat and pesticide use at both local and landscape scales a ected the abundance of codling moth (Cydia pomonella, lepidoptera), its parasitism and predation of s…