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BACKGROUND: Sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) is one of the most destructive pests to an extensive range of crops and vegetables. Pesticide‐dependent management programs have led to severe health problems, including pesticide poisoning and cancer in human beings, as well as pesticide resistance in insect pests. Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) are considered safe and highly effective against many pests. Therefore, identifying the pathogenicity and virulence of EPFs against Bemisia tabaci is a valuable addition to the management of their infestations. In this study, we investigated the efficacy of conidia suspensions of Aschersonia aleyrodis, Isaria fumosorosea, Beauveria bassiana, and Akanthomyces muscarius (= Lecanicillium muscarium) against nymphal stages of Bemisia tabaci in cucumber seedlings under both optimal and suboptimal conditions. RESULTS: All of the EPFs demonstrated significant ovicidal effects, with the highest cumulative mortalities observed in Aschersonia aleyrodis (96.46%) and I. fumosorosea‐treated (94.60%) seedlings against host eggs and crawlers. Similarly, in the L4‐instars experiment, Aschersonia aleyrodis and I. fumosorosea were the most efficient, resulting in cumulative mortalities of 94.82% and 94.75%, respectively. However, Bemisia tabaci cumulative mortalities on seedlings treated with Akanthomyces muscarius (78.36%) and Beauveria bassiana (85.90%) were also significantly different from untreated seedlings (7.10%). Under suboptimal relative humidity (RH) conditions (≤ 45% RH), Aschersonia aleyrodis exhibited greater tolerance to harsh conditions, causing a significantly higher infection rate in L1–L2 nymphs (~92%) compared to the approximately 32% infected young nymphs observed in I. fumosorosea‐treated seedlings. CONCLUSION: All the selected EPF were more effective against the young nymphal instars. Our results also highlight the efficacy of Aschersonia aleyrodis under suboptimal conditions. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Species feeding lower at the food web like cyprinids (carp) are often advocated for sustainable aquaculture. However, their gastrointestinal biology (lack of stomach) has limited their acid‐peptic digestion, acid lysis of plants and invertebrate tissues, and phosphorus uptake. This review presents data from 118 articles on the use of plant‐based feed additives (PFAs) in Cyprinus carpio (common carp). Our review shows that most PFA research in carp is focused on improving feed and nutrient utilization efficiency along various levels (in vivo digestibility, metabolizability to in situ nutrient loading), while other half is focused on ensuring animal welfare standards (biomass, immunity, welfare). Several reviewed plant‐based additives however tend to do both. The PFAs include essential oils (EOs), plant‐part extracts (PPEs), medicinal plants (herbs) and spices. The effective inclusion rate of EOs is lower (0.5%–0.75%). Whereas PPEs, herbs and spices work at a generic inclusion rate of 2%–5% in carp feeds. Even at an optimum inclusion rate, there are factors controlling PFAs efficacy such as methods of preparation (reviewed). PFAs like lemon beebrush, geranium, dill, Rosemary pepper and common mallow with/without certain pre‐conditions are better to avoid in cyprinid diets. Although certain PFAs may potentially alter organoleptic qualities of carp flesh or might assist in training carp immunity, information on these aspects is limited. The review also provides a quick guide to researchers and feed companies interested in exploring the potential of PFAs in C. carpio aquaculture. Potential PFAs that could be valuable for cyprinids, but not yet explored are also listed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly pH-responsive gelatin film incorporating purple cabbage anthocyanin (PCA) and chondroitin sulphate (CS)/tannic acid (TA) was developed. Co-pigmentation of PCA via CS/TA improved its photothermal stability and visibility of color change in gelatin film. The morphological and structural properties of CS-PCA and TA-PCA films revealed that a more stable network was formed as new hydrogen bonds were generated by the co-pigmentation. Meanwhile, the co-pigmentation improved film's mechanical and hydrophobic properties, expressed as higher tensile strength (16.65 and 17.97 Mpa) and lower water vapor permeability (1.45 and 1.41) in CS-PCA and TA-PCA films, compared to PCA film. CS-PCA and TA-PCA films showed distinct color transitions for chilled fish fillets during storage. Total color difference (ΔE) of CS-PCA and TA-PCA films correlated well with the deterioration indexes of total volatile base nitrogen (TVB-N). All the results provided a novel pH-sensitive intelligent packaging strategy by co-pigmenting CS/TA with PCA for freshness monitoring., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2024 Published by Elsevier Ltd.)