© Benaki Phytopathological Institute
Hellenic Plant Protection Journal
9:
78-88, 2016
DOI 10.1515/hppj-2016-0010
1
Department of Plant Production, College of Agricul-
ture and Natural Resources of Darab, Shiraz Universi-
ty, Darab, Iran
2
Department of Insect taxonomy, Iranian Research In-
stitute of Plant Protection, Tehran, Iran
3
Zoological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences,
St. Petersburg, Russia
4
Department of Plant Protection, Isfahan Research
Center for Agriculture and Natural Resources, P.O.Box
81785-199, Isfahan, Iran
* Corresponding author:
in orchards (e.g. olive and temperate-zone
fruits) and fields (e.g. sesame and vegeta-
bles) (Johnson, 1983; Pasiecznik
et al.,
2004;
Sertkaya
et al.,
2005; Qasem, 2007) such as
its deep rhizobia-symbiont root system (Ba-
zzaz, 1973; Canadell
et al.,
1996; Atomov and
Aktoklu, 2007; Fterich
et al.,
2011) that prop-
agates through both long-lived seeds and
rhizome buds (Qasem, 2007). These features
allow
P
.
farcta
to produce enormous and du-
rable dense stands and quickly become a
dominant weed in agroecosystems.
Prosopis
farcta
is also a host of witches’ broom dis-
ease which is the most destructive disease
of alfalfa in Iran (Esmailzadeh-Hosseini
et al.,
2011).
In order to control
P
.
farcta
and other
species of the same genus in agricultural ec-
osystems, efforts were made to preserve the
beneficial attributes of these plants while
limitting their dispersal and competition
with agricultural crops. To date, soil solari-
sation, mechanical methods and chemical
control (Qasem, 2007) have failed to effec-
tively control
P
.
farcta
. By contrast, biologi-
cal agents can be used against
P
.
farcta
in an
integrated management program (Johnson,
1983; Mc Kay and Gandolfo, 2007; Qasem,
Bioecology of
Nephopterygia austeritella
(Lep.: Pyralidae), a
potential biological control agent of
Prosopis farcta
(Fabaceae)
in central Iran
A. Mohammadi-Khoramabadi
1
*, H. Alipanah
2
, S. Belokobylskij
3
and M.R. Nematollahi
4
Summary
Prosopis
farcta
(Fabaceae) is a native and common perennial weed plant in Iran. In search of
environmental-friendly control methods against
P
.
farcta,
we discovered the seed feeder moth
Neph-
opterygia austeritella
(Lepidoptera; Pyralidae) in central Iran and studied its bioecology for the first time
from 2008 through 2009. Infestation pattern, larval feeding behaviour, developmental period, season-
al occurrence and the adverse impact of the moth on the reproductive organs of
P
.
farcta
were investi-
gated. Diagnostic morphological characters of the fifth larval instar of
N. austeritella
are provided. Two
gregarious ectoparasitoids were reared and identified as
Apanteles subcamilla
and
Phanerotoma
leuco-
basis
(Hymenoptera: Braconidae). Mortality rates of the larvae were 3.03 and 13.44% in 2008 and 2009,
respectively. Larvae destroyed 29.6-38.4% of the pods of their host plants. The potential of
N
.
austeritel-
la
as an efficient biological control agent in IPM programs against
P
.
farcta
is discussed.
Additional keywords
: mesquite, impact, parasitoid, pest, seed, weed.
Introduction
Syrian mesquite,
Prosopis farcta
(Banks & So-
lander) (Fabaceae), is a perennial, thorny, xe-
rophilous and salt-tolerant shrub which is
widely spread from India to Algeria between
latitudes
ca
10° (in Yemen) and 50° in Kazakh-
stan (Bazzaz, 1973; Bisby
et al.,
2011).
Prosopis
farcta
is an economically multifaceted plant.
It has been regarded as a useful plant for fix-
ation of nitrogen and the production of nu-
trient-rich pods and foliage, especially in sa-
line and arid environments and serves as
a source of fodder in many countries (Said
et al.
, 2002; Dogan
et al.,
2004; Omidi
et al.
,
2012). However, special biological attributes
of
P
.
farcta
have increased the competi-
tive and prevalent properties of this weed
