“茶虫”的一天,从夜开始

喧闹的世界在夜的黑暗中归于寂静,焦虑的都市人得到了片刻喘息。对于一个喜欢清静、嗜茶如命、被称之为“茶虫”的人来说,夜,才是一天最精彩的开始。古人说,品茶“一人得神、二人得趣、三人得味”,是为饮茶之情。在笔者看来,喝茶无论人多人少,都能自得其乐。

Investigation of Pest in Xinyang Tea-Producing Area

In order to improve the development step of tea industry,the pest investigation was carried out in main Xinyang tea producing area from the year of 2005 to 2008,and 1 600 specimens were collected. The results showed that there were 70 species pests,containing 8 orders and 35 families. Among the pests,there were 11 species such as Boarmia obliqua Wehrli,Euproctis pseudoconspersa Strand,Dasychira barbarana Matsumura,Iragoides fasciata Morre,Clania minuscula Butler,Adoxophyes orana Fisher von Roslerstam,Hypomeces squamosus Fabricius,Sympiezomia citre Chao,Empoasca flavescens Fabricius,Toxoptera aurantii Boyer and Aleurocanthus spiniferus Quaintance,which were significantly harmful to the tea plant. Pest non-pollution control techniques were developed.

Imidacloprid in processed tea and tea liquor

Imidacloprid is a newly introduced broad-spectrum chloronicotinyl insecticide and will find its way in agricultural production, particularly in Asia. However, information on the fate of imidacloprid in crop plants is lacking. The degradation of imidaclopnd in processed CTC tea and tea liquor was investigated in the present study in which imidacloprid was applied at recommended application rate （30.0 g a.i./ha） and twice the recommended application rate （60.0 g a.i./ha） for three consecutive seasons. Imidacloprid was rapidly dissipated in processed tea following first order reaction kinetics at all application rates and had half-lives of 0.9 1-1.16 d with the residue in tea liquor found to be below detectable limit on 3rd day samples. The study revealed that imidacloprid is safe for human consumption and will not pose any residual toxicity problem.

A New Strain of Entomopathogenic Bacillus of the Tea Pest, Eterusia magnifica （Butl.） （Zyganiidae： Lepidoptera） from Darjeeling Foothill Region of India

An entomopathogenic strain of Bacillus sp. was isolated from diseased red slug caterpillars of the leaf-feediug pest of tea, Eterusia magnifica, from the Darjeeling foothill region. Analysis of the bacterimn based on polyphasic approach such as growth phase, biochemical tests, whole body＂ protein, crystal protein profiles along with bioassay （i.e. LC50 and LT50 values） established it as a different strain but close to Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki （Btk）, the commercial microbial pesticides of lepidopterans. Among biochemical parameters differences were noted between the new strain and Btk in ONPG, lysine decarboxylase, omithin decarboxylase, urease, nitrate reduction, V-P and glucose utilization tests. PAGE analysis of the whole body protein for the new strain recorded a 34 kDa band which was absent in Btk （used as reference）. Crystal protein profile of the newly isolated bacterial strain showed 53 and 49 kDa bands whereas in Btk only 52 kDa band was evident. Although the LC50 values of the new strain and Btk were close, their LT50 values were much different, the new strain showing a lower value than Btk. In light of the above differences and in absence of any report of entomopathogenic bacterial strain of E. magnifica, the isolated strain of Bacillus appeared to be new to science and hence was designated as RS01. The new strain opens up the possibility of its futttre use as microbial pesticide after standardizing its formulation and checking its safety aspects.

Biological Control of Tortricidae in Tea Fields in Japan Using Insect Viruses and Parasitoids

Tea is a perennial and evergreen plant. Cultivated tea trees provide a habitat for insect pests and their natural enemies. In Japan, granuloviruses (GVs) have successfully controlled two of the most important pests of tea, Adoxophyes honmai and Homona magnanima (Tortricidae: Lepidoptera). The GVs are produced in vivo and a single application sustains pesticidal efficacy throughout a year, which encompasses 4 to 5 discrete generations of both species. A. honmai and H. magnanima also have various natural enemies, especially hymenopteran parasitoids. Such resident natural enemies also play a role in reducing the pest density in virus-controlled fields, but the effect of virus infection on parasitoids sharing the same host larva has not been well studied. Survival of one of the major parasitoids of A. honmai, Ascogaster reticulata (Braconidae: Hymenoptera), is reduced by virus infection of the host. Viruses, including GV and entomopoxvirus (EPV), and certain koinobiont endoparasitoids, including A. reticulata, are both known to regulate host endocrinology. However, the GV and EPV have distinct host regulation mechanisms, and consequently have different impacts on the survival of A. retuculata, when A. reticulata parasitizes a host that is infected with either GV or EPV. These additional effects on host regulation displayed by both viruses and parasitoids affect the outcome of virus-parasitoid interactions.