established in the release sites but caused only minor reductions in anopheline larval
populations.
Nikdel et al. (2011a, b) reported Hexamermis cf. albicans (Nematoda:
Mermithidae) from infected larvae of two lepidopterans, Euproctis chrysorrhoea
L. 1785 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) and Lymantria dispar L. 1785 (Lepidoptera:
Erebidae) in the Arasbaran area, northwest of Iran. Deladenus species is another
group of nematodes which is associated with insect. Three species of this genus
including Deladenus durus (Jahanshahi Afshar et al. 2014) D. persicus sp. n. and
D. apopkaetus (Miraeiz et al. 2017) were reported from Iran.
Also, the occurrence of some species of the genus Oscheius Andrássy, 1976
(Nematoda: Rhabditida) from different regions of Iran were reported. These species
include Oscheius tipulae, O. rugaoensis, O. necromenus and O. onirici (HassaniKakhki et al. 2012; Darsouei et al. 2014; Valizadeh et al. 2017; Karimi et al. 2018).
Salari et al. (2019) surveyed to assess the effect of Acrobeloides maximus
(Rhabditida: Cephalobidae), collected from Kerman province, against the larvae of
the leopard moth. They found that in plate assays, larval mortality was significantly
influenced by the concentration of the nematode and after 72 h, the highest mortality
of pest larvae was observed at the concentration of 200 IJs per larva.
12.5 Conclusion
Based on reports, about 26,000 tons of pesticides including more than 140 types of
active ingredients are distributed throughout the country annually. Integrated Pest
Management program is a strategy that reduces dependence on chemical control and
minimizes the problems associated with pesticides. In recent years, responsible
organizations (both governmental and NGOs) in the agriculture sector have contributed to the operation of FAO Regional IPM Project in the country which has led to
the acceptance of this procedure among farmers, with an increase in using various
natural enemies in different crops. However, there is no doubt that Iranian farmers
are at the beginning of the use of biocontrol agents in IPM projects and are still far
away from an ideal situation. For example, on account of some issues like import
restrictions of entomopathogens based products, like EPNs there is no or little
information about their efficiency between growers, which means no demand in
the market; hence we could not find any formal record about the application of EPNs
in IPM program by Iranian farmers. Nevertheless, there is a developing tendency
between scientific workers and we think the prospect of EPNs application in the
country is bright.
It seems that for the introduction of these agents for use by farmers, stakeholders,
and the agriculture sector, the first step is convincing the government to issue import
licenses for EPNs based products. This may be achieved through information
obtained from international and national research about the efficacy and safety of
EPNs. In the next step, we need to encourage growers to use EPNs. This purpose
may be achieved through a network of technical assistance which counsel growers
12 Entomopathogenic and Insect Parasitic Nematodes
497
populations.
Nikdel et al. (2011a, b) reported Hexamermis cf. albicans (Nematoda:
Mermithidae) from infected larvae of two lepidopterans, Euproctis chrysorrhoea
L. 1785 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) and Lymantria dispar L. 1785 (Lepidoptera:
Erebidae) in the Arasbaran area, northwest of Iran. Deladenus species is another
group of nematodes which is associated with insect. Three species of this genus
including Deladenus durus (Jahanshahi Afshar et al. 2014) D. persicus sp. n. and
D. apopkaetus (Miraeiz et al. 2017) were reported from Iran.
Also, the occurrence of some species of the genus Oscheius Andrássy, 1976
(Nematoda: Rhabditida) from different regions of Iran were reported. These species
include Oscheius tipulae, O. rugaoensis, O. necromenus and O. onirici (HassaniKakhki et al. 2012; Darsouei et al. 2014; Valizadeh et al. 2017; Karimi et al. 2018).
Salari et al. (2019) surveyed to assess the effect of Acrobeloides maximus
(Rhabditida: Cephalobidae), collected from Kerman province, against the larvae of
the leopard moth. They found that in plate assays, larval mortality was significantly
influenced by the concentration of the nematode and after 72 h, the highest mortality
of pest larvae was observed at the concentration of 200 IJs per larva.
12.5 Conclusion
Based on reports, about 26,000 tons of pesticides including more than 140 types of
active ingredients are distributed throughout the country annually. Integrated Pest
Management program is a strategy that reduces dependence on chemical control and
minimizes the problems associated with pesticides. In recent years, responsible
organizations (both governmental and NGOs) in the agriculture sector have contributed to the operation of FAO Regional IPM Project in the country which has led to
the acceptance of this procedure among farmers, with an increase in using various
natural enemies in different crops. However, there is no doubt that Iranian farmers
are at the beginning of the use of biocontrol agents in IPM projects and are still far
away from an ideal situation. For example, on account of some issues like import
restrictions of entomopathogens based products, like EPNs there is no or little
information about their efficiency between growers, which means no demand in
the market; hence we could not find any formal record about the application of EPNs
in IPM program by Iranian farmers. Nevertheless, there is a developing tendency
between scientific workers and we think the prospect of EPNs application in the
country is bright.
It seems that for the introduction of these agents for use by farmers, stakeholders,
and the agriculture sector, the first step is convincing the government to issue import
licenses for EPNs based products. This may be achieved through information
obtained from international and national research about the efficacy and safety of
EPNs. In the next step, we need to encourage growers to use EPNs. This purpose
may be achieved through a network of technical assistance which counsel growers
12 Entomopathogenic and Insect Parasitic Nematodes
497