
Arturo CoccoUniversity of Sassari | UNISS · Department of Agriculture
Arturo Cocco
PhD Entomology
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60
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Introduction
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January 2009 - December 2013
January 2007 - December 2008
Publications
Publications (60)
The influence of complete cover cropping (inter- and intra-row) on grapevine growth, yield and must quality was evaluated in a three-year field trial in a commercial vineyard in northwestern Sardinia (Italy). Effects on developmental and reproductive parameters of the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), were als...
BACKGROUND
Although mating disruption is increasingly being used to control the worldwide grapevine pest vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), its mode of action remains unclear. A three‐year field experiment was carried out to investigate the effects of mating disruption on the development and reproduction of the...
BACKGROUND
The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, is one of the main pests of oak forests worldwide and causes extensive defoliation during its periodic outbreaks. In the Mediterranean region, control of gypsy moth populations in cork oak forests is based on application of Bacillus thuringiensis serovar kurstaki (Btk) formulations. This research investi...
The vine mealybug (VMB), Planococcus ficus, is a major grapevine pest worldwide, whose chemical control is often unsatisfactory due to its cryptic behavior, insecticide resistance and high fecundity rate. Recently, increasing restrictions have been applied to insecticides used for managing VMB. This review discusses sustainable VMB management strat...
Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Pseudococcidae) constitute important agricultural pests that often require control measures. Different mealybug taxa might, however, react differently to natural enemies and pesticides so that appropriate control measures against mealybugs rely heavily on the correct species identification. The mealybug Planococcu...
Climate change poses unprecedented challenges to ecosystems and species, particularly in biodiversity hotspots like the European-Mediterranean regions. The ecological consequences are not easily discernible. Although the influence of climate on plants and vertebrates has been extensively studied, its impact on alien insects, especially social wasps...
Global plant trade represents one of the main pathways of introduction for invertebrates, including insects, throughout the world. Non-native insects include some of the most important pests affecting cultivated and ornamental plants worldwide. Defining the origins and updating the distribution of non-native invasive species is pivotal to develop e...
The Moroccan locust has been considered one of the most dangerous agricultural pests in the Mediterranean region. The economic importance of its outbreaks diminished during the second half of the 20th century due to a high degree of agricultural industrialization and other human-caused transformations of its habitat. Nevertheless, in Sardinia (Ital...
Lymantria dispar is the main threat to Mediterranean forests. Sampling methods used for monitoring the pest population density are generally very time-consuming for practical purposes, such as the delimitation of infested areas for control programs. Enumerative and binomial sequential sampling plans were developed using data collected in cork oak f...
Vespa crabro, also known as European hornet, is a eusocial Vespidae originally from Eurasia that was accidentally introduced on the island of Sardinia (Italy) in 2010. Currently, its distribution is limited to the northern area of the island. Considering that a non-harmful species in its native region can exhibit invasive behaviour when established...
Mating disruption (MD) is a species-specific and environmentally friendly pest management tactic based on the release of synthetic sex pheromones aiming to interrupt the mate-finding communication and prevent mating in the target pest. The present work aims to provide an overview of the current scientific and technical knowledge on mating disruptio...
Stator limbatus is a phytophagous beetle native to warm regions of North and Central America, feeding on Fabaceae seeds and one of the most polyphagous species within the subfamily Bruchinae, here reported for the first time in Europe and on new hosts. Adult beetles emerged from Acacia spp. seeds collected in the islands of Corsica (France), and Sa...
Nitrogen is a key macronutrient for the quantitative and qualitative yield of grapes; in addition, it influences the development and reproduction of grape pests. The multiple effects of different nitrogen rates were investigated on the red berry cultivar ‘Carignano’ and the grape pest Planococcus ficus in a two-year field trial. Different amounts o...
ABSTRACT The present paper reports data on the presence in Sardinia of Paysandisia archon, a phytophagous moth native of South America infesting several species of Arecaceae, which has been accidentally introduced in various European countries. In Italy, this pest was recorded for the first time in autumn 2002 in Campania, and subsequently in Apuli...
The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), and the tent caterpillar, Malacosoma neustrium (L.), are the main cork oak, Quercus suber L., pests in the Mediterranean area and cause complete defoliation in large forest districts. In order to control infestations, large scale aerial applications of insecticides based on Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kursta...
The sentinel garden is an increasingly widespread strategy tool for early identification of plant pests before they spread becoming a risk to other species of major economic interest. Moreover, the use of sentinel gardens can strengthen and improve pest risk
analysis by reporting little-known invasive organisms and revealing numerous new host plant...
The European hornet, Vespa crabro L. (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), is a eusocial insect native to Eurasia that was accidentally introduced in the island of Sardinia (Italy) in 2010. This alien generalist predator could impact on native insect species through predation or competition by modifying interspecific relations in sensitive island ecosystems. As...
The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus , is the most devastating pest of the Canary palm, Phoenix canariensis , in the Mediterranean Basin. Sporadic infestations have also been observed in other cultivated palm species and, above all, in the endemic European fan palm, Chamaerops humilis . Considering the high ecological importance of C. hum...
The presence of Fibla maclachlani (Albarda, 1891) (Raphidioptera, Inocelliidae) has been recorded in Tuscany (central Italy) since 2005 according to information derived from both a biodiversity survey project and citizen science activities. The species, whose natural distribution includes the three main islands of central Mediterranean-Corsica, Sar...
The presence of Fibla maclachlani (Albarda, 1891) (Raphidioptera, Inocelliidae) has been recorded in Tuscany (central Italy) since 2005 according to information derived from both a biodiversity survey project and citizen science activities. The species, whose natural distribution includes the three main islands of central Mediterranean-Corsica, Sar...
In Sardinia (Italy), Eucalyptus plantations cover approximately 23,000 hectares, above all in the southern part of the island. There is a complex of phytophagous insect pests that is threatening the health status of Eucalyptus trees. The most recent invasions include the sap-suckers, Glycaspis brimblecombei, Blastopsylla occidentalis, and the bronz...
Interreg Marittimo IT-FR. ALIEM
Action pour Limiter les risques de diffusion des espèces Introduites Envahissantes en Méditerranée
The effect of increasing mating delay on the reproductive performance and population growth rates of the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), was investigated under laboratory conditions. Virgin females were mated at 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after emergence and reproductive and life table parameters were es...
Mealybugs are major pests in grape-growing areas worldwide, causing direct and indirect crop damage. The vine mealybug Planococcus ficus (Signoret) is a key pest in most of grape-producing countries, whereas the citrus mealybug Planococcus citri (Risso) is reported as destructive in Brazilian and Spanish vineyards.
We examined the adaptation of the...
Planococcus ficus (Signoret) is a key pest of grapevines and can cause severe crop losses in table and wine grape cultivars. In order to explore the potential of annual inoculative releases of Leptomastix dactylopii Howard against the vine mealybug, laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate the suitability of P. ficus as a host for the para...
The population structure and dynamics of the tomato leafminer Tuta absoluta were investigated in a protected tomato crop and on potato and tomato crops and Solanum nigrum plants under open-field Mediterranean climatic conditions (Sardinia) by captures in pheromone-baited traps and visual inspection of host plants. In the greenhouse crop, male captu...
Background
This work investigated the within- and between-plant distribution of the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick), in order to define action thresholds based on leaf infestation and propose enumerative and binomial sequential sampling plans for pest management applications in protected crops.ResultsThe pest spatial distribution was aggr...
The ultrastructure of spermiogenesis in four species of Coccoidea, namely Quadraspidiotus perniciosus and Pseudaulacaspis pentagona (Diaspididae), as well as Planococcus citri and Planococcus ficus (Pseudococcidae), is described. Similarly to other coccids, during spermiogenesis sperm nuclei elongate towards the plasma membrane, forming a conical p...
Background
This work investigated the within- and between-plant distribution of the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick), in order to define action thresholds based on leaf infestation and propose enumerative and binomial sequential sampling plans for pest management applications in protected crops.ResultsThe pest spatial distribution was aggr...
The effects of different nitrogen fertilization regimes on body size and selected life-history parameters (development time, survival, fecundity and fertility) of the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), were investigated on potted grapevines under laboratory and screenhouse conditions. In both trials, five group...
Mating disruption field experiments to control the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), were carried out in 2008 and 2009 in two commercial vineyards in Sardinia (Italy). The effectiveness of mating disruption was evaluated by testing reservoir dispensers loaded with 100 mg (62.5 g/ha) and 150 mg (93.8 g/ha) of t...
The influence of different ground cover management systems on the development of the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus Signoret (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), was evaluated in a commercial vineyard (cv. Carignano) in north-western Sardinia within an ongoing multi-year project. In this paper, preliminary results of the first year of observations are re...
The koinobiont endoparasitoid Leptomastix dactylopii Howard (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) has been widely used as a biological control agent of the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), in citrus orchards and ornamental greenhouses. Previous studies showed that the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret) (Hemiptera...
The effectiveness of mating disruption to control the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), in greenhouse tomato crops was evaluated in four trials carried out in winter–spring and summer–winter growing seasons in Southwestern Sardinia (Italy). Pheromone dispensers loaded with 60 mg of the natural blend of the major...
The effects of different nitrogen fertilization regimes on female development of the vine
mealybug, Planococcus ficus (Signoret), and the citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri (Risso)
(Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), were investigated on Vitis vinifera L., cv Vermentino. The experiment
was carried out under indoor conditions using 50 potted plants, separa...
Abstract: A field trial was carried out from 2009 to 2011 to investigate the influence of two irrigation
methods on the productivity of Vitis vinifera (cv Vermentino) and population density of the
leafhoppers Jacobiasca lybica and Zygina rhamni. The trial was set up in a commercial vineyard in
Southern Sardinia to compare two irrigation strategies:...
The peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders), is one of the most harmful species of Tephritidae. It is a polyphagous species attacking more than 40 species of fruit crops and has also been recorded from wild host plants. The peach fruit fly is a serious pest of peach, guava and mango; secondary hosts include apricot, fig and citrus. It causes...
The tomato borer Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) is an invasive pest native to South America and since its arrival in Europe the tomato production has faced severe yield loss. The complex of indigenous parasitoids that colonized this new host species was monitored in Southern Italy during 2009-2011, in some of the regions where T. absoluta was initially de...
Two tephritid species are important pests of citrus in the Mediterranean Region. The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is widely distributed, whereas the peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders), has only recently been recorded in Egypt. Both are multivoltine and polyphagous that can cause direct losses in fruit producti...
Sustainable forest management could take advantage from knowing the ecological mechanisms underlying provisioning and regulating ecosystem services. The gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), is one of the main oak forest defoliators in the Holarctic Region, and its outbreaks may disrupt ecosystem mechanisms at the basis of...
The effectiveness of mass trapping using light and pheromone water traps to control tomato infestations of Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) was investigated in Southwestern Sardinia. Trials were carried out in commercial plastic greenhouses equipped with insect-proof nets in both winter – summer and summer – winter tomato growing seasons. L...
The present study investigates whether treatments with Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Btk) at the beginning of the progradation phase affect the natural oscillation in Lymantria dispar (L.) populations, by decreasing their abundance to the levels of the latency phase, thus avoiding outbreaks. During the spring of 2005, a bioinsecticide based on B...
Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) is a major pest of fruit crops due to its wide host range and distribution. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness of Surround WP, a kaolin-based particle film, as an alternative to synthetic insecticides to control medfly infestations and postharvest decay in citrus and stone fruit. No-choice...
A mating disruption experiment against the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus, was carried out during 2008 in 3 commercial vineyards in northwestern Sardinia. Within each vineyard, 2 adjacent plots of variable size (0.2, 0.4, and 0.5ha, respectively) were established as mating disruption and control plot. Plastic dispensers (Suterra Inc., USA) with 1...
Spatial fluctuations of the Sardinian population of the gypsy moth Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) were characterized using geostatistical and climate models. Data on gypsy moth egg mass abundance recorded at 282 permanent monitoring sites from 1980 to 2004 were incorporated in a geographic information system with the vegetational...
The brown citrus aphid parasitoids Lipolexis oregmae and Lysiphlebus testaceipes are present and widely distributed in Dominica. Lipolexis oregmae was not purposefully released and it is not clear when and by which pathway the parasitoid was introduced to Dominica. The brown citrus aphid samples tested were parasitized by both parasitoids (80-100%)...
El acaro rojo de la palmera, Raoiella indica Hirst, una plaga importante del coco, banano, y de la palmera datilera es una plaga nueva invasora del Hemisferio Occidental. El acaro rojo de la palmera (ARP) ha sido observado atacando bananos y plátanos en Dominica y en la Florida (M. A. Hoy, A. Cocco, observación personal). Para desarrollar un método...
The effectiveness of the bioinsecticide Naturalis based on the Beauveria bassiana (Balsamo) Vuillemin (Deuteromycotina Hy- phomycetes) strain ATCC 74040 against the medfly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera Tephritidae) was evaluated in labo- ratory and field experiments. Under laboratory conditions, the bioinsecticide (150 ml/l) protected fru...
The acute toxicity of the adjuvants Silwet L-77 and Kinetic, alone and in combination with petroleum oil and copper hydroxide, to the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama was evaluated in screenhouse bioassays. In addition, the acute and residual toxicity of Silwet L-77 and Kinetic, alone and in combination with petroleum oil, copper hydr...
Planococcus ficus (Signoret) and Planococcus citri (Risso) (Hom., Pseudococcidae) are important phytophagous components in different agroecosystems. The two species may coexist in the same environment and are most difficult to distinguish by morphological features. The aim of this study was to find genetic markers suitable for distinguishing P. fi...
In 2005, observations were conducted in a vineyard of Northern Sardinia, heavily infested by populations of Planococcus citri and P. ficus. Males of these species were sampled using traps activated with the P. ficus pheromone at two concentrations (0.25 mg and 1 mg) and with that of P. citri (0.25 mg). Male of P. ficus were first caught during the...
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Question (1)
I worked on the potential of mating disruption to control Planococcus ficus infestations in vineyards. You can find attached the published paper.
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