The objectives of this study were to determine the efficacy, range of activity and effective concentrations (EC50 and EC80) of abamectin as a seed treatment of tomato against Meloidogyne incognita, M. arenaria and M. javanica. The study revealed that abamectin seed treatment at concentrations ranging between 0.3 and 1 mg a. s. seed(-1) is highly effective against the three species of root-knot nematodes, retaining its efficacy in the soil for 8 weeks. The highest EC50 found was reached at 0.2 mg a. s. seed(-1). The highest EC80 for the number of egg masses per g root in the three Meloidogyne species was attained at 0.51 mg a. s. seed(-1). Abamectin as a seed treatment is promising for the control of root-knot nematodes in the field since only low amounts of active ingredient are required to give adequate protection in the most sensitive stages of tomato root growth and development.

This guideline describes a standardised form of extended laboratory test for evaluating the effects of plant protection products on the parasitic wasp, Aphidius rhopalosiphi (De Stefani-Perez) (Hymenoptera, Braconidae), both in terms of acute treatment effects (i.e. mortality over a 48 h exposure period) and sub-lethal treatment effects (i.e. changes in the reproductive capacity of surviving wasps). The test method involves the treatment of a 3-dimensional test substrate (barley seedlings), over which the test insects (laboratory-bred female wasps, less than 48-h-old) are confined for 48 h. Surviving wasps are then individually confined over untreated aphid-infested plants for 24 h and the numbers of parasitised aphids in which wasp pupae subsequently develop are recorded. Acute mortality after 48 h and the mean number of ‘mummies’ (the pupal stage of the wasps) produced per female are used as assessment endpoints for the test.

A faunistic study investigating the potential side-effects of corn (Zea mays) genetically modified to express a truncated Cry1Ab protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki, on non-target arthropods was carried out under field conditions. The communities of non-target arthropods in the soil, on the leaves and flying in the crop area were monitored throughout the growing season. Water-treated, untransformed corn served as a control, and a spray application of a bacterial Bt insecticide (Delfin WG) and a synthetic insecticide (Karate Xpress) used to control the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis; Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) acted as positive reference treatments. Results were analyzed using a principal response curve. Significantly lower infestations by the lepidopteran target species O. nubilalis were observed in the Bt-corn plots compared to the control. No effects of Bt-corn on the communities of soil dwelling and non-target plant dwelling arthropods were observed. A trend towards a community effect on flying arthropods was observed with lower abundance of adult Lepidoptera, flies in the families Lonchopteridae, Mycetophilidae and Syrphidae, and the hymenopteran parasitoids Ceraphronidae. Effects were weak and restricted to two sampling dates corresponding to anthesis. A short but statistically significant effect of Karate Xpress and Delfin was observed on the community of plant dwellers and a prolonged effect of Karate Xpress on the soil dwellers.

Rate-response toxicity tests on Aphidius rhopalosiphi were carried out with seven plant protection products using three different test systems. The first type of test system conformed to the standard laboratory testing guidelines and consisted of two treated glass plates fitted into a metal frame, which created an enclosure for the wasps. In the second type of test system, the plant protection products were applied to two bean-leaf disks mounted on agar filled dishes, which were fitted to a transparent plastic frame. The third type of test system consisted of potted barley plants, which were treated and covered with an acrylic cylinder. Adult wasps were exposed to the dried residues of the products for 48 h before wasp mortality was assessed. For each product and test system, the LR50 value (application rate at which 50% mortality of the wasps occurs) was determined with a Bayesian Probit analysis. Technically, rate-response testing was feasible with all three test systems, and rate-response relationships could be established. The results support a sequential testing scheme, as the LR50 values increased from 'glass plate test' to 'excised leaf test' to 'whole plant test' with all tested products. The LR50 values were 7.8-340 times higher on whole plants than on glass plates. Because of the variability of this factor, a numerical safety factor cannot be used to substitute extended laboratory testing for regulatory purposes.

The existing standardised test systems for assessing the toxicity of crop protection products to the non-target arthropods Typhlodromus pyri (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and Aphidius rhopalosiphi (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae) are limit tests designed to compare a single-use rate of the product with a water control. The suitability of these test systems for generating dose-response data as required for refined ecotoxicological risk assessment was evaluated. Data on dose-response toxicity of crop protection products to T. pyri and A. rhopalosiphi were generated under worst-case laboratory and to T. pyri under extended laboratory conditions and analysed using the standard Probit method, a logistic regression, a generalised Probit analysis, and the moving average-angle method in order to calculate the LR50-values (application rate killing 50 % of the exposed organisms). The fit of the models, the precision of the resulting LR50 values, and the required minimum number of replicates were compared. In 85 % of the studies, at least one of the statistical methods led to satisfactory results. The moving average-angle method was the most widely applicable method. The results show that the existing guidelines can be used to perform dose-response tests. Implications for risk assessment are discussed.

SUMMARY A life table study of the development of seeds of Pithecellobium ebano was conducted in North-Eastern Mexico. Two species of bruchid beetles were found. Merobruchus major infested 11% of the seeds and Stator beali 2.2%. Both bruchid species spend little time within dispersed seeds. M. major avoids seed dispersal by cementing the seeds it attacks to the inside of the pod valves while S. beali emerges within a week of seed dispersal. Reasons for this are discussed. S. beali does not attack seeds on the ground which confirms that, despite being a host specialist, it belongs to the mature fruit guild.