| 1. |
- Campolo, Orlando, et al.
(författare)
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Field efficacy of two organic acids against Varroa destructor
- 2017
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Ingår i: Entomologia generalis. - : E SCHWEIZERBARTSCHE VERLAGSBUCHHANDLUNG. - 0171-8177. ; 36:3, s. 251-260
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The parasitization of honeybees by Varroa destructor represents a serious limiting factor for beekeeping. The past and current widespread use of synthetic acaricides, such as fluvalinate and coumaphos, results in the onset of pest resistance, therefore research efforts focused on the use of alternative solutions to control the population of this parasitic mite. In the present study, the efficacy of two formulates containing Oxalic Acid (OA) or Formic Acid (FA) was evaluated in real field conditions. Our results demonstrated the effectiveness of the OA formulate in controlling more than 90% of V. destructor phoretic population. On the other hand, FA shown an efficacy of 60% on phoretic mites. A similar pattern was highlighted on brood and adult bees’ infestation. The OA formulate showed a proper efficacy, highlighting its potential as alternative to chemical substances in holding the increase of V. destructor during a late summer treatment.
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| 2. |
- Malacrinò, Antonino, et al.
(författare)
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A Metabarcoding Survey on the Fungal Microbiota Associated to the Olive Fruit Fly
- 2017
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Ingår i: Microbial Ecology. - : SPRINGER. - 0095-3628 .- 1432-184X. ; 73:3, s. 677-684
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The occurrence of interaction between insects and fungi is interesting from an ecological point of view, particularly when these interactions involve insect pests and plant pathogens within an agroecosystem. In this study, we aimed to perform an accurate analysis on the fungal microbiota associated to Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) through a metabarcoding approach based on 454 pyrosequencing. From this analysis, we retrieved 43,549 reads that clustered into 128 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), of which 29 resulted in the “core” associate fungi of B. oleae. This fungal communitywasmainly represented by sooty mould fungi, such as Cladosporium spp., Alternaria spp. and Aureobasidium spp., by plant pathogens like Colletotrichum spp. and Pseudocercospora spp., along with several other less abundant taxa whose ecology is unclear in most of the cases. Our findings lead to new insights into the microbial ecology of this specific ecological niche, enabling the understanding of a complex network of interactions within the olive agroecosystem.
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| 3. |
- Zoccali, Paolo, et al.
(författare)
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A novel GIS-based approach to assess beekeeping suitability of Mediterranean lands
- 2017
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Ingår i: SAUDI JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. - : ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. - 1319-562X. ; 24:5, s. 1045-1050
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Honeybees are critically important for the environment and to the economy. However, there are in substantial decline worldwide, leading to serious threat to the stability and yield of food crops. Beekeeping is of pivotal importance, combining the wide economical aspect of honey production and the important ecological services provided by honeybees. In this scenario, the prompt identification of beekeeping areas is strategic, since it maximised productivity and lowered the risks of colony losses. Fuzzy logic is an ideal approach for problem-solving tasks, as it is specifically designed to manage problems with a high degree of uncertainty. This research tested a novel GIS-based approach to assess beekeeping suitability of lands located in Calabria (Southern Italy), without relying to Analytic Hierarchy Process - Multiple Criteria Decision Making (AHP-MCDM), thus avoiding the constraints due to the technique and decision makers’ influences. Furthermore, the data used here were completely retrieved from open access sources, high-lighting that our approach is characterized by low costs and can be easily reproduced for a wide arrays of geographical contexts. Notably, the results obtained by our experiments were validated by the actual beekeeping reality. Besides beekeeping, the use of this system could not only be applied in beekeeping land suitability evaluations, but may be successfully extended to other types of land suitability evaluations. (C) 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of King Saud University.
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