Chapingo Autonomous University

Invasive alien plants (IAPs) disrupt biodiversity, ecosystem functions, rural livelihoods, and human health/well-being. Hence, the negative impact of Cenchrus setaceus (syn. Pennisetum setaceum) as an invasive weed poses many concerns in terms of environmental and socio-economic impact. The abundance in previous research on invasion ecology, weed biology, and the management of C. setaceus establishes the chance to carry out an in-depth evaluation of this invasive alien species for a cohesive understanding, closely linked to policy development. This systematic review aims to provide a comprehensive evaluation of previous research, identify knowledge gaps, and incorporate recent practical research findings on C. setaceus to elucidate management options. Standard methods were used to collect the literary evidence on multiple thematic aspects linked with its traits and management. Results revealed the substantial negative impacts of C. setaceus on ecosystems, ascribed to multiple physiological, biochemical, and ecological features. Further, a multitude of plant traits such as rapid seed distribution and efficient reproductive strategies imposed serious challenges in the control of C. setaceus. Deployment of integrated control methods for at least three years in depleting seed bank conjunction by planting native grass may help in its confinement. In conclusion, policy measures like strict biosecurity/legal regulations, explicit elucidation of weed biology, early detection and response, ecological modeling, and long-term monitoring with community participation can expand the horizon of C. setaceus control and help achieve its sustainable management.

The objective of this study was to evaluate essential oils (EOs) as an alternative control method for Rhipicephalus microplus and Amblyomma mixtum larvae. The EOs used were obtained by steam distillation from the leaves of cinnamon (Cinnamomum verum), mexican mint (Plectranthus amboinicus), lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), peppercorns (Pimenta dioica), and peruvian pepper tree (Schinus molle). To evaluate the acaricidal effect of EOs against the larvae of two tick species, a larval immersion test (LIT) was performed using six concentrations (10 mg/mL, 5 mg/mL, 2.5 mg/mL, 1.87 mg/mL, 1.25 mg/mL, and 0.6 mg/mL), in addition to a negative control group (water + ethanol) and three positive controls (organophosphate, formamidine, and pyrethroid). LIT results were obtained 48 h after exposure. Data were processed using Probit procedure to determine the lethal concentrations at 50% (LC50), 95% (LC95), and 99% (LC99). For R. microplus, 99% mortality was obtained at concentrations as low as 1.4 mg/mL for S. molle, while the highest LC99 was recorded with P. dioica at 23 mg/mL. In the case of A. mixtum, higher concentrations were required to achieve a high mortality rate. EO of P. amboinicus had the lowest acaricidal effect, requiring 26.2 mg/mL to achieve an LC99, while S. molle required a concentration of 6.9 mg/mL to achieve an LC99.

In this study, we adapted a physiologically structured model based on ordinary differential equations, derived from Rossini's general framework, to describe the population dynamics of Eotetranychus kankitus in four peach varieties (Oro Azteca, Diamante Mejorado, Arkansas, and F70) under real field conditions in Tepeyahualco, Puebla, M & eacute;xico. During the 2024 growing season, 19 samples were collected, yielding the mean mites-per-leaf abundance. The thermal functions for development, fecundity, and mortality were fitted using published laboratory data for E. kankitus, whereas five key reproductive parameters that define the thermal fecundity curve (a beta, b beta, k beta), the relative fecundity of mated females (c2), and the transition from mated to unmated females (G1 <- 2) were estimated using Bayesian inference. The estimate was obtained using an affine-invariant ensemble sampler Markov Chain Monte Carlo implemented in the emcee library. The overall results provided a satisfactory representation of population abundance; however, variety-specific calibrations revealed biologically and statistically significant differences in reproductive parameters. In particular, cultivar-specific estimates revealed clear differences in parameters governing reproductive state: Arkansas exhibited higher values of the relative fecundity of mated females (c2) and the transition rate from mated to unmated females (G1 <- 2), whereas consistently lower values were inferred for F70, indicating reduced reproductive output across the season. These findings demonstrate that peach variety is a key determinant of E. kankitus population dynamics and that accounting for varietal differences through cultivar-specific parameter calibration substantially enhances the model's predictive performance. This study constitutes one of the first cultivar-scale calibrations for E. kankitus and establishes a methodological framework that integrates physiological data, field observations and Bayesian inference to support pest forecasting and management in fruit tree systems.

In this article, we investigate the possibility that the large-scale magnetic fields observed in galaxies, of the order of microgauss, arise naturally from a complex Scalar Field Dark Matter (SFDM) halo charged under a local U(1) symmetry. Extending our previous work, where multistate SFDM solutions were shown to form “gravitational atoms” capable of explaining the anisotropic distribution of satellite galaxies (VPOS), we analyze here the coupled dynamics of the scalar and a gauge field at the perturbative level. By solving the perturbed Klein-Gordon and gauge-field equations, we find the temporal evolution and show that the spatial structure of the induced electromagnetic fields is governed by the same spherical Bessel functions and spherical harmonics that characterize the ground and excited states of the multi-state SFDM halo. Remarkably, the presence of the gauge field does not modify the dark-matter density distribution, which preserves the multi-state configuration previously obtained. Our results demonstrate that a charged multi-state SFDM halo can generate coherent, large-scale magnetic fields whose morphology is determined by the excited modes of the scalar field, providing a unified framework in which both galactic magnetic fields and VPOS-like structures originate from the underlying quantum nature of dark matter.

Macrophomina phaseolina is a plant-pathogenic fungus that causes charcoal rot in sesame crops, which is the most significant disease affecting this crop worldwide. In Mexico, the interaction between M. phaseolina and sesame has been poorly studied. Therefore, this research aimed to characterize Macrophomina spp. isolates from diseased sesame roots in northern Sinaloa, Mexico, using morphological, molecular, and pathogenic methods. It also assessed the in vitro effectiveness of biocontrol agents and chemical fungicides. Six isolates of Macrophomina were identified through morphology, species-specific tef1-α primers, and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequences (ITS + tef1-α), confirming their identity as M. phaseolina; all isolates proved to be pathogenic. Antagonism assays with Trichoderma spp. showed statistically significant differences. Trichoderma isolates inhibited mycelial growth by up to 63% against M. phaseolina. In fungicide sensitivity tests, M. phaseolina isolates showed EC50 values ranging from 0.002–0.123, 0.049 to 1.397 and 0.029 to 0.539 mg L−1 for thiophanate-methyl, tebuconazole, and pyraclostrobin, respectively. In summary, Trichoderma spp. isolates and the tested fungicides warrant further research as potential strategies to manage M. phaseolina in sesame fields.