Bottom-Up Effects of Various Plant Growth Promoting Treatments on Fitness Parameters of Hippodamia variegata.

Plant growth-promoting activities using biological, chemical, and organic fertilizers are well-documented for pest insects, their impacts on predators are less commonly studied. This research investigates whether bell pepper plants treated with plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs), arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), vermicompost (30%), and zinc sulfate either separately or in selected combinations affect the nutrient indices and population growth traits of the ladybug predator, Hippodamia variegata (Goeze), when fed on aphids, Myzus persicae (Sulzer). Bell pepper plants were individually treated with two PGPRs (Bacillus subtilis and Pseudomonas fluorescens), one AMF (Glomus intraradices), soil amended with 30% vermicompost (v/v), and foliar application of zinc sulfate under greenhouse conditions.

Effects of Chemical, Organic and Bio-Fertilizers on Some Secondary Metabolites in the Leaves of Bell Pepper ( Capsicum annuum ) and Their Impact on Life Table Parameters of Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae).

The green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer), is a polyphagous and a holocyclic aphid that causes severe damage on hundreds of host plants in both fields and greenhouses. In this research, the effects of Zinc sulfate spray and amending the soil with 30% vermicompost, Bacillus subtilis , Pseudomonas fluorescens , Glomus intraradices , G. intraradices  ×  B.