First report of black leaf streak disease in bananas caused by on Mauritius island.

Pseudocercospora fijiensis, the causal agent of the black leaf streak disease of bananas (plants in the genus Musa) (BLSD), is considered to be the major economic threat to export-banana cultivation (de Bellaire, Fouré, Abadie, & Carlier, 2010). The disease has a worldwide distribution throughout the humid tropical regions and has been previously reported in the Southwestndian Ocean (SWIO) area: in 1993 in Mayotte and Comoros islands (DR Jones & Mourichon, 1993), in 2000 in Madagascar (Jones, 2003; Rivas, Zapater, Abadie, & Carlier, 2004) and in 2018 in Reunion Island (Rieux et al., 2019).

Caught on camera: Field imagery reveals the unexpected importance of vertebrates for biological control of the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus Col. Curculionidae).

Understanding of ecological interactions is necessary for the application of biological control. Banana is the second most produced fruit worldwide and the banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus) is the most important pest of banana and plantain. Its biological control remains challenging because of the robustness and cryptic behaviour of the adult and the hidden development of larval stages.

Assessing the effect of complex ground types on ground-dwelling arthropod movements with video monitoring: Dealing with concealed movements under a layer of plant residues.

Understanding the effect of ground types on foraging movements of ground-dwelling arthropods is a key step to managing their spatial distribution as required for successful conservation biological control. Indeed, fine movements at the centimeter scale can strongly influence the foraging ability of pest predators. However, because radio frequency identification or harmonic tracking techniques are not yet suitable for small species and video tracking focuses on uniform and light backgrounds, foraging movements have rarely been studied in relation to ground types.

Associated cultivated plants in tomato cropping systems structure arthropod communities and increase the regulation.

Cultivating plant mixtures is expected to provide a higher productivity and a better control of pests and diseases. The structure of the arthropod community is a major driver of the magnitude of natural pest regulations.With the aim of optimizing pest management, a study was carried out to determine the effect of the cropping system type (tomato mono-cropping vs.

Ecological Regulation of Black Leaf Streak Disease Driven by Plant Richness in Banana Agroecosystems.

Black leaf streak disease (BLSD), caused by the fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis, is an important threat to banana production. Although its control relies on costly and unsustainable use of fungicides, ecological regulation of BLSD linked to field-scale plant diversity has received little attention. We monitored banana phytometers in plots in banana-based fields where no fungicides were applied.