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The ladybird beetle, Coccinella septempunctata, is an important predator of soft-bodied insects. To further optimise an artificial diet for rearing the ladybird beetle, we investigated the effects of juvenile hormone (JH), honey, shrimp, rape pollen, lard, and other factors on the biological characteristics of C. septempunctata. Survival and pupation rates of larvae were decreased when JH and lard were added to the artificial diet; however, the addition of lard increased egg hatching to 73.70%, which was significantly higher than the control diet (50.56%). Adding honeybee pupae to the artificial diet shortened the preoviposition period to 7.64 d, compared to 10.36 d in the control diet. Adding honey, shrimp, and honeybee pupae to the diet resulted in 465.12, 452.35, and 423.01 eggs laid, respectively, which was significantly higher than the control diet. The pupation and emergence rates of C. septempunctata larvae fed an artificial diet without JH were significantly higher than those fed an artificial diet with JH; thus, JH and lard should not be added to artificial diets during the larval stage. During the adult stage, adding rape pollen, shrimp, honey, lard, and honeybee pupae to the diet could improve the fecundity of C. septempunctata. These results will be helpful for optimising artificial diets for the mass production of C. septempunctata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the biocontrol efficacy of a consortium of three rhizobacteria (hereafter BBS) against cotton Verticillium wilt, along with the effect on plant growth, in a series of greenhouse and field experiments. BBS treatment inhibited germination ofVerticillium dahliaespores by 88.4%. Under greenhouse conditions, BBS reduced Verticillium wilt by 86.1% compared to the untreated control, and promoted plant growth by 49.9%. In field experiments, nine L/acre of BBS suspension reduced Verticillium wilt by 76.0% and increased cotton yields by 13.7%. Soil inoculation with BBS also improved the breaking tenacity and uniformity index of harvested cotton. Soil properties improved with BBS treatment in field experiments, including an increase in organic matter and the availability of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K). There was no significant difference in the biocontrol efficacy of BBS among eight tested cotton cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]