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Dear Colleagues,

Plant-parasitic nematodes are present in practically all crops of agronomic interest, leading to reduced or even total loss of production. Worldwide, the approximate losses caused by these parasites are close to hundreds of billions of US dollars per year. Furthermore, the indiscriminate use of synthetic nematicides has led to resistance. It is also noteworthy that in recent years, society has been giving greater importance to environmental aspects, directing research toward finding new alternatives with less negative effects on the environment. Therefore, the use of integrated pest management and new nematode control alternatives is urgent.

This Special Issue focuses on approaches that apply biological and abiological strategies for nematode control. This edition will include interdisciplinary strategies involving chemistry, biology, engineering, and technology.

The articles will cover several topics, from the use of integrated pest management, biological control, chemical control, and use of natural products to the use of drone technology and modified organisms. All types of articles, such as original research, opinions, and reviews, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Filippe Elias de Freitas Soares
Dr. Willian César Terra
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Keywords

integrated pest management
biocontrol
secondary metabolites
plant-parasitic nematodes
natural products

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Research

13 pages, 1989 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Nematicidal and Insecticidal Activity of Proteases from Carica papaya and Ananas comosus

by Henry Leonel Bueso Castro, Jhennifer Cristina de Souza Alves, Joanina Gladenucci, Rosangela Cristina Marucci and Filippe Elias de Freitas Soares

Agriculture 2023, 13(6), 1119; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13061119 - 25 May 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2099

Abstract

Plant proteases are well known for their various industrial applications. Papain, present in papaya latex (Carica papaya) and pineapple bromelain (Ananas comosus), is undoubtedly the most studied and widely used vegetable protease in the food and pharmaceutical industry worldwide. However, its potential as a biopesticide has been little explored. The objective of this study was to evaluate the activity of proteases from Carica papaya latex and peel and crown of Ananas comosus fruits on agricultural pests. To evaluate proteolytic activity on nematodes, extracts, and approximately 50 juveniles of Panagrellus sp. were placed in microtubes. To evaluate the insecticidal effect, larvae and pupae of Tenebrio molitor L. were submerged in active and denatured extracts. Additionally, larvae of T. molitor were fed an artificial diet at doses of 0, 100, 250, and 500 mg/g of wheat bran. The weight and number of dead larvae were recorded, and feeding behavior was evaluated. The proteases of papaya latex and papain caused reduction (p < 0.05) on Panagrellus sp. The extracts showed a toxic effect (p < 0.05) against the larvae of T. molitor. Active papain resulted in the absence of wings in 53.3% of adults from the pupae, and no malformation caused by denatured papain was observed. No mortality was observed in larvae fed an artificial diet. However, there was a strong feed reduction, reduction in the relative rate of consumption, reduction in growth and feed conversion efficiency caused by papaya latex. The results of this study show that plant proteases have the potential for the development of sustainable alternatives for the control of arthropod pests and parasitic nematodes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biological and Abiological Strategies for Nematode Control)

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