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Areas planted with Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake variety platyphylla F. Muell. (Myrtaceae) expand annually in most regions of Brazil. Many lepidopteran species defoliate this plant, but with damage varying per species. The objective of this study was to identify the pest status of lepidopteran defoliators based in the faunistic analysis of these insects and of their natural enemies on E. urophylla variety platyphylla plantations in a representative producing region of Brazil. Adult moths of lepidopterans and of their natural enemies were captured using a light trap, installed every two weeks, from September 2016 to August 2018. A total of 183, 10, three and 139 lepidopteran species was captured and classified as primary, secondary, without defined importance to eucalypt plants and non-identified with 1,419, seven, 465 and 876 individuals, respectively. Two primary pest species were constants, two accessories and six accidentals and all secondary ones were accidentals. Six primary pest species were common and dominant and four non-dominants. Faunistic indices indicated the main lepidopteran species that should be monitored in pest management programs. Seven hymenopteran species (65 individuals), three dipterans (49 individuals) and two hemipterans (four individuals) were the natural enemies collected using light traps. The monitoring of lepidopteran pests with light traps can contribute to the management and to reduce damage and control costs for these species, besides identifying natural enemies for biological control programs in Eucalyptus plantations.

The ground beetle, Neoaulacoryssus speciosus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) is of high relevance to field because it has been recorded as a pest of seeds and young plants of vegetables and other crops and a predator in agricultural crops, forest and weeds in Brazil. However, natural habitat changes are increasing agriculture and forest insect outbreaks in urban areas. A N. speciosus population outbreak occurred in October and November 2018 simultaneously in 12 neighboring municipalities at the beginning of the rainy season in the northern region of Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The objectives of this study were to report a sudden and simultaneous population outbreak of N. speciosus and to describe the factors of habitat change that could have contributed to this invasion in 12 municipalities in the northern region of Minas Gerais State in the Caatinga biome of Brazil. In addition, female and male genitals were described and illustrated, the scientific classification revised and common names of N. speciosus listed. Thousands of males and females of N. speciosus agglomerated in shady, humid places during the day and night for about 15 days. Neoaulacoryssus speciosus has been identified and illustrated, its scientific classification revised and four common names listed for this species.

Pulp and paper industries are very important for developing the Brazilian economy. During production processes, many effluents are generated with high polluting potential. The objective of this study is to conduct an extensive literature review on the characteristics of effluents and treatment forms adopted by Brazilian mills in this industrial sector. Most consulted studies address raw (without treatment) and secondary (after biological treatment) effluents, considering their main characteristics like pH, chemical and biochemical oxygen demands (COD and BOD, respectively), color, solids, organochlorines, toxicity, estrogenic activity, and phenols. Raw effluents differ considerably in composition, depending on the type of paper produced, the pulping process employed, and other steps, like pulp bleaching. Raw effluent characteristics indicate that this effluent cannot be directly disposed of into water bodies, because it does not comply with federal and state disposal standards. Secondary effluents normally comply with Brazilian legislations, although some studies have reported COD and total phenol concentrations higher than disposal standards, suggesting that additional treatments are necessary. Treated effluent reuse was verified in some Brazilian mills, while its disposal in eucalyptus plantations has been considered a promising alternative for irrigation purposes., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Background: Gonipterus platensis Marelli (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is the main defoliating beetle of Eucalyptus L'Hér. (Myrtaceae) plants worldwide. The suitability of Eucalyptus to this pest varies among host plant genotypes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development, reproduction, and survival of G. platensis on Eucalyptus species and hybrids to assess their suitability to this insect pest in Brazil., Methods: The survival, development, and reproduction parameters were evaluated with G. platensis feeding leaves of Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh., Eucalyptus grandis W. Hill., Eucalyptus urophylla S.T. Blake and on the hybrids of E. grandis × E. urophylla 'H13' and 'VR3748' in the laboratory., Results: The duration of the larval stage of G. platensis was shorter on E. urophylla. The pupal stage and the period from larva to adult were equally shorter on E. urophylla and E. camaldulensis . The viability of instars of this insect was low on both E. grandis and E. camaldulensis . The complete lifespan, oviposition period and reproduction parameters of G. platensis were greater on E. urophylla , lower on E. camaldulensis and E. grandis , and intermediate on both hybrids tested., Synthesis: Eucalyptus urophylla is the most suitable host for G. platensis survival, development, and reproduction, while E. grandis and E. camaldulensis are the least suitable., Competing Interests: Wagner de Souza Tavares is employed by Asia Pacific Resources International Holdings Ltd. (APRIL), PT. Riau Andalan Pulp and Paper (RAPP)., (©2022 Oliveira et al.)

The bioecology and infestation aspects of Neotuerta platensis Berg, 1882 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on plants are poorly known. This insect fed on the leaves of common purslane, Portulaca oleracea L. (Portulacaceae) for two consecutive years, which triggered its study in the following five years in Januária, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The objective of this work was to study the bioecology and infestation aspects of N. platensis on P. oleracea plants in the field and laboratory. The mean duration (± SD) of the egg, larva and pupa stages was 3.6 ± 0.89, 11.5 ± 2.81 and 10.7 ± 1.97 days, respectively. The mean numbers of egg masses and eggs per female (± SD) were 3.8 ± 1.16 and 891.6 ± 116.83, respectively. The percentage of infested plants was 59, 74, 0, 78 and 75% and the mean numbers of larvae per plant (± SD) ranged from 0.7 ± 0.45 to 1.6 ± 0.49 individuals, respectively from 2015 to 2019. Neotuerta platensis larvae infested P. oleracea plants in four out of five years evaluated.

A thorough understanding of the heritability, genetic correlations and additive and non-additive variance components of tree growth and wood properties is a requisite for effective tree breeding. This knowledge is essential to maximize genetic gain, that is, the amount of increase in trait performance achieved annually through directional selection. Understanding the genetic attributes of traits targeted by breeding is also important to sustain decade-long genetic progress, that is, the progress made by increasing the average genetic value of the offspring as compared to that of the parental generation. In this study, we report quantitative genetic parameters for fifteen growth, wood chemical and physical traits for the world-famous Eucalyptus urograndis hybrid (E. grandis × E. urophylla). These traits directly impact the optimal use of wood for cellulose pulp, paper, and energy production. A population of 1,000 trees sampled in a progeny trial was phenotyped directly or following the development and use of near-infrared spectroscopy calibration models. Trees were genotyped with 33,398 SNPs and 24,001 DArT-seq genome-wide markers and genomic realized relationship matrices (GRM) were used for parameter estimation with an individual-tree additive-dominant mixed model. Wood chemical properties and wood density showed stronger genetic control than growth, cellulose and fiber traits. Additive effects are the main drivers of genetic variation for all traits, but dominance plays an equally or more important role for growth, singularly in this hybrid. GRM´s with >10,000 markers provided stable relationships estimates and more accurate parameters than pedigrees by capturing the full genetic relationships among individuals and disentangling the non-additive from the additive genetic component. Low correlations between growth and wood properties indicate that simultaneous selection for wood traits can be applied with minor effects on genetic gain for growth. Conversely, moderate to strong correlations between wood density and chemical traits exist, likely due to their interdependency on cell wall structure such that responses to selection will be connected for these traits. Our results illustrate the advantage of using genome-wide marker data to inform tree breeding in general and have important consequences for operational breeding of eucalypt urograndis hybrids., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Author CG was employed by International Paper do Brasil. This commercial affiliation does not alter our adherence to all PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

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