This study reports a new Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus (NPV) isolated from Heliothis peltigera (Denis & Schiffermuller), collected in the vicinity of Adana, Turkey. Infection was confirmed by tissue polymerase chain reaction and sequence analysis. Results showed that dead H. peltigera larvae contain Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus. Thus, the isolate was named as HearNPV-TR. Microscopy studies indicated that occlusion bodies were 0.73 to 1.66 mu m in diameter. The nucleocapsids are approximately 184 x 41 nm in size. The genome of HearNPV-TR was digested with KpnI and XhoI enzymes and calculated as 130.5 kb. Phylogenetic analysis showed that HearNPV-TR has close relation with the H. armigera SNPV-1073 China isolate. The Kimura analysis confirmed that the isolate is a variant of H. armigera NPV. Bioassays were performed using six different concentrations (1 x 10(3) to 1 x 10(8) occlusion bodies (OBs)/mL) on 2nd instar larvae of H. peltigera, H. armigera, Heliothis viriplaca, Heliothis nubigera. LC50 values were calculated to be 9.5 x 10(3), 1.9 x 10(4), 8.6 x 10(4) and 9.2 x 10(4) OBs/mL within 14 days, respectively. Results showed that it is a promising biocontrol agent against Heliothinae species.

Honey bees are the most important pollinators of agricultural products and provide pollination. Especially the worker bees, which make up the majority of the honey bee population, produce products with high economic value such as honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, and beeswax. Mass deaths are observed in honey bees grown in Erzurum province, where beekeeping activities are carried out intensively in the Eastern Anatolia region of Türkiye. Epidemic diseases seen in honey bees in Erzurum have a very negative effect on the development and progress of beekeeping activities. Most of the diseases that cause epidemics in bees and cause sudden death and colony loss are of viral origin. In this study, viral pathogens that cause death in honey bees in Erzurum province were investigated and it was determined that two honeybee viruses, the black queen cell virus (BQCV), and the deformed wing virus, caused intense epidemics. In addition, phylogenetic analyzes revealed that all BQCV isolates found in this study clustered quite far from BQCV isolates previously isolated from Turkiye, while DWV isolates clustered close to Hakkari and Lithuania isolates.

Cotton is an industrial plant with a high commercial value. It is used in various fields such as textile, food (cotton oil), gunpowder industry, paper, and furniture production. One of the most important problems encountered during cotton production is insects that feed on cotton and cause economic loss. The intensive amount of pesticides is used by the producers for the control of pest insects. As insects gain resistance to pesticides over time, the amount of chemical pesticides applied is gradually increasing. Chemical products are quite harmful to both living things and the environment. For this reason, there is a need to popularize biological control methods instead of using pesticides to control pests. In this chapter, detailed information about insect species causing damage to cotton and biological control methods is given.