Hanan Habak)1*(, Magda Moufleh)2( and Bahaa El-Rahban)2( and and Nader Asaad)3( and Ertyad Isaa)3(and Mohammad Ahmad)4(
(1). Agricultural Research center, Lattakia, Syria.
(2) General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Damascus, Syria
(3) Agricultural Research center, Alghab, Syria.
(4). Professor of biological control, Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Tishreen University, Lattakia, Syria.
(*Corresponding author: Dr. Hanan Habak, Email: hanan.habak5@gmail.com)
Abstract
A field survey was carried out in many fields infested with dodder (Cuscuta sp.) to detect their host plants and natural enemies. Dodder samples were randomly collected from infested fields, in different sites of Lattakia and Alghab(Hamah), and inspected in the laboratory. Results showed that the Cuscuta sp. was distributed in all of the studied sites. It recorded on many host plants of crops, weeds and ornamental plants .and it was recorded two species of weevils (Smicronyx sp) : Smicronyx jungermanniae ,Reich, 1797 , pauperculus Wallaston, 1864 Smicronyx(Coleoptera: Curculionidae, these two species were distributed naturally in all infested and studied fields, the rate of infestation in seeds capsules of the Dodder (Cuscuta sp) differ due to host plants and studied sites, and it reached to 90% and 70% in Alghab and Lattakia respectively. Larvae feeding inside capsules caused important reduction in the fresh weight of infested dodder plants and capsules compared with un-infested ones, the reduction rate in fresh weight reached to22.44% and 48.7%in Dodder plants and capsules which infested with weevils larvae respectively. These results suggest the high potential of using Smicronyx jungermanniae ,Reich, 1797 ,and pauperculus Wollaston, 1864 Smicronyx in the biological control of Cuscuta sp.
Key words: Cuscuta sp, Smicronyx sp., capsules, biological control.
Full paper in Arabic: pdf