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Cabbage leaf miner Scaptomyza flava (Fallen) (l)iptera: Drosophilidae) is a native and oligophagous leaf miner insect on cruciferous plants (Brassicaceae). It occurs in many parts of the world and throughout Khuzestan. The relationship between feeding and ovipositional preferences of insect, and host plant suitability on seven host plant species (cauliflower Brassica oleracea var. botryds, green cabbage B. oleracea var. capitata, hedge mustard Sisymbrium officinale, brussels sprout B. oleracea var. germmifers, turnip Brassica rapa, cucumber Cucumis mtivits, wheat Triticum aestivum and rice Oryza saliva) was evaluated. Ovipositional preference of 5. flava was determined by measuring feeding punctures and egg density after ndult female flies were given a simultaneous choice and non-choice of all host plants for feeding and oviposition. Studies were performed under greenhouse conditions. The experimental design was a randomized complete block one with 8 treatments and 5 replications of each treatment. S. jlava showed distinct hierarchical ordering in its ovipositional preference, with turnip, green cabbage, and hedge mustard being preferred over all others. Approximately 1.05 and 5.8 times more eggs were deposited on green cabbage than on turnip and cauliflower respectively. When the percentage of punctures with eggs was calculated for each species, cauliflower had by far the highest value at 10% and 19.7% in choice and non-choice tests respectively. For all other species on which eggs were laid it was less than half this. In non-choice tests, females laid more eggs on green cabbage and turnip than other brassicas.

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The strawberry spider mite (SSM), Tetranychus turkestani Ugarov & Nikolski, is an important pest of greenhouse cucumber in tropical and temperate regions of the world. The use of the host plant resistance is a basic method to reduce pesticide application in greenhouses. In this study, the biological responses of SSM to six greenhouse cucumber cultivars (Puia, Hedieh, Milad Ghadim, Milad Jadid, Khasib and Negin) were investigated. Non-choice tests were performed to evaluate the interaction between the host plant-mite. All tests of this study were carried out under laboratory conditions at 28 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH and 16:8 h (L: D) in a walk-in growth chamber. The results indicated that immature development time and adult longevity of SSM was significantly influenced by cucumber cultivars. The highest r, λ, and R₀ were 0.275 (day^-1), 1.316 (day^-1) and 36.180 (offspring/generation) all of which were recorded for the mites reared on the Hedieh cultivar. No significant difference was observed for these parameters among the other cultivars. Mean generation times of T. turkestani reared on Negin (14.020 day) and Milad Ghadim (13.57 day) cultivars were significantly longer than for the other cultivars. This mite had the shortest generation time on Puia cultivar (11.43 day). In conclusion, it seems that Hedieh and Milad Jadid cultivars are the more susceptible and resistant cultivars to the SSM than the other tested cultivars, respectively.