Infection of the Anther-smut Microbotryum violaceum in Populations of Silene dioica: Variation in Floral Morphology, Patterns of Spore Deposition and Pathogen-Pollinator Mediated Selection

The anther-smut Microbotryum violaceum ( Brandenburger and Schvinn) G. Deml. and Oberw.) causes a systematic infection of its host Silene dioica ( L.) Clairv., resulting in sterility and production of teliospores (dispersal propagules) in flowers. These spores are transmitted to healthy plants mainly by flower visitors. The behavioral responses of flower visitors to a variation in floral characters are not only likely to affect rates of pollen export/import, but also the rate of spore deposition and probability of disease. In a transplantation experiment, using plants from four different populations, we tested for correlation between variation in female floral morphology and patterns of spore and pollen deposition, and a resulting risk of disease. The source populations in this experiment were located on four islands in Skeppsvik archipelago in northern Sweden, and represented a gradient of disease incidence from completely healthy ( Island 1), low incidence ( Island 2) to high incidences ( Islands 3 and 4) of disease. Fifty plants from each population were transplanted to the center, of the population on Island 4. There were significant differences among the transplants in floral characters, i.e. corolla size, style length and ovule number. Plants from the non-diseased population had larger flowers and longer styles than plants from the highly diseased populations. Numbers of pollen grains and spores deposited on flowers were strongly and positively correlated. We found that plants originating from the non-diseased population captured approximately 4 times more pollen and 9 times more spores, per flower than die individuals from the resident population (Island 4, population 4). The incidences of disease among plants, from the four populations differed significantly, and was 37%, 20%, 18% and 0 for populations 1, 2, 3 and 4 respectively. In a survey of ten populations we found a significant negative correlation between the mean style length ( positively correlated with corolla size and ovule number) among healthy plants and incidence of disease in these populations. The potentiality for pathogen-pollinator mediated selection oil floral characters; and consequences for gone flow between populations of Silene dioica are discussed.

Biology and Control of Papaya Mealybug （Paracoccus marginatus） Using Herbal Oils

As it was rear to find out detailed description, a study on biology and control measures ofP. marginatus was carried out at National Plant Quarantine Service, Katunayake Sri Lanka. Average length and width of different stages, number of eggs in an egg sac, hatchability rate and duration of life cycle were studied. Control measures were tested using herbal oils and it was arranged in Completely Randomized Design with six replicates. Experiments were carried out in laboratory conditions under 28 ±2℃ and 70% RH. Range of length and width of different life stages revealed that, egg 0.3-0.1 mm ×0.15-0.10 mm, 1st instar 0.4-0.2 mm × 0.20-0.10 mm, 2nd instar 0.6-0.5 mm × 0.29-0.20 mm, 3rd instar male 0.8-0.5 mm × 0.30-0.20 mm, 3rd instar female 0.7-0.5 mm × 0.29-0.20 mm, adult male 0.9-0.7 mm× 0.20-0.10 mm and adult female 2.8-1.9 mm × 1.40-0.80 mm. A range of 100-200 eggs were in an ovisac and hatchability rate was 76-80%. Twenty to twenty-four days were taken to complete their life cycle. Cinnamon and Neem oil in cooperated with Surfactant and Kerosene oil could be effectively used as potential chemical agents for control of P. marginatus.

Evaluation of Insecticidal Properties of Some Medicinal Herbs on the Confused Flour Beetle Tribolium confusum （Tenebrionidae： Coleoptera）

Five concentrations effects of nine herb powders against the confused flour beetle T. confusum have been studied under controlled conditions. The insecticidal effects of using powders on the egg, larval, pupal and adult stages of the insect showed that some of which （e.g., Foeniculum capillaceum and Anethum graveolens） have certain effects on the different stages of the studied insect even at the lowest concentrations. The mentioned herb powders showed very high mortality for egg stage reached 96.6% and 93.3% respectively at the lowest concentration and 100% at the highest concentration for both powders. Other powdered herbs showed prolonged effect of durations for larval stage. For example, Acorus calamus prolonged this duration to 34.2 days, at the first concentration while it was 25.4 days for control treatment. At the second concentration it was 53 and 41.5 days for An. gr. and Pimpinella anisum respectively, also Matricaria chamomilla showed similar effect at the 4th and 5th concentrations. Comparing with high numbers of progeny for the control treatment, also some powdered herbs showed high effect on respiration of the adults. The quantity of oxygen consumed by untreated beetles during the time of experiment （90 min） was so high than that of beetles treated with Ac. caL, Artemisia absinthium and AL sat. Moreover the internal systems of both sex males and females have been affected, ducts showing different changes when studied anatomically giving small size of ovarioles, deformed of accessory glands, swollen of stink glands with liquid oil. Majority of those males showed small testis. Most of the mentioned effects were happened as results of the powders of A c. cal., Al. sat., and Ma. ch., also the powders of F. cap., and A. abs., decrease the sizes of the testis, and accessory glands.

Tabletting Characteristics of the Selected Malaysian Herbs

This work describes a study of tabletting of selected Malaysian herbs such as Eurycoma longifolia Jack, Ficus deltoidea and Morinda citrifolia. These herbs are famous for their therapeutic properties and are used as herbal medicine or as medicinal food. A cylindrical uniaxial die of 13 mm was used to compress the herb powders into tablets. Pressures ranging from 7.5 MPa to 75 MPa were applied using a universal testing machine. Two feed weights, 0.5 g and 1.0 g, were used to produce the tablets. A binder, the microcrystalline cellulose known as Avicel, was used to investigate its effect on tabletting. Properties associated with both the binder and the compounds were studied, and binary mixtures with compositions ranging from 10% to 60% were examined. The strength of the herb tablets was then tested using an indirect tensile strength test. Upon compression, the Morinda citrifolia powder showed the highest density compared to that of Avicel. However, due to its high elasticity, the tensile strength of the Morinda citrifolia tablet was the lowest. The experimental data were also verified using an established model for compression property development. The results indicated that this simple approach can be used to understand the tabletting characteristics of these herbs.