Jassim K. Mohammad ¹, Radhi F. Al-Jassany ², Abul-Sattar A. Ali ³

Affiliations
1 National Center for Organic Farming /MoA, Abu-Ghraib, Baghdad, IQ
2 Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, University of Baghdad, Abu-Ghraib, Baghdad, IQ
3 Department of Plant Protection, College of Agriculture, Al-Anbar University, Al-Anbar, IQ

Abstract

The egg parasitoids Trichogramma spp. were used in a large scale application in different agriculture systems and the species Trichogramma evanescens (Westwood) showed a very promising results when used against lesser date moth Batrachedra amydraula Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Cosmopterygidae). The efficiency of the parasitoids is affected by many environmental factors including temperature. The effect of different temperature regimes on some biological characteristics of T. evanescens was investigated when reared on the egg B. amydraula under laboratory conditions. The longest life span was 35 days recorded at 15°C while the shortest one was 7 days at 33°C. The optimum temperature for the development of this parasitoid ranged between 22 and 27°C. The upper development threshold temperature was 38.4°C and the lower was 11.14°C. Results also showed that the highest parasitism rate was 94.4% recorded at 25±2°C. Adult emergence and female longevity were also influenced by temperature. The feasibility of the results in mass production and the use of the parasitoid for the control of lesser date moth also discussed.

Keywords

Date Palm, Egg Parasitoids, Iraq, Lesser Date Moth, Temperature Trichogramma evanescens, Batrachedra amydraula.

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