During the last few decades, cole crops production are severely affected by diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella infestation as this insect developed multiple resistance to commonly used insecticides resulting in population outbreak, causing devastation and complete crop loss throughout the world. The use of manipulating integrated methodologies are reducing the host plant resistant and natural enemies and also increasing the production cost. The failure of all management strategies forced to study thermo regulatory, tritrophic relationship of development of DBM with host plant and environmental condition. The present monographs deals with the population dynamics and life table studies of DBM, estimation of thermal threshold level, and calculation of degree days at different temperature and host plants in laboratory and field conditions.

The work presented in this book consists of three disparate elements which have the unifying feature of being concerned with alphasatellite. The satellite-like alphasatellites (previously known as DNA 1) were first identified in 1999 and were shown to be associated with the majority of begomoviruses (family Geminiviridae) that require the satellite molecule now collectively known as betasatellites. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) is a powerful reverse genetics tool for application in functional genomics. The alphasatellite-based VIGS vector was shown to be functional by silencing expression of GFP in 16c plants and magnesium chelatase. In addition, the alphasatellite vector was shown to be useful as a gene expression vector. An analysis of tomato plants from Oman exhibiting severe leaf curl symptoms showed the presence of Tomato yellow leaf curl-Oman (TYLCV-Om), a virus previously shown to be present in tomato in this country, a new recombinant begomovirus species, for which the name Tomato leaf curl Oman virus (ToLCOMV) is proposed, a betasatellite (tobacco leaf curl betasatellite (TbLCB) and an unusual alphasatellite. The significance of these findings is discussed.

Pieris brassicae (Linn.) is one of the most destructive oligophagous pests of cole crops and causes damage at all the growth stages of plants belonging to Cruciferae. P. brassicae with other pest of cole crops cause damaged which costing up to 1 billion US$ per year in damage and control costs. Hence, it is needed to be control to this pest. Insecticide application against the larval stage of P. brassicae is the primary method of control, but high tolerance to most insecticides and associated environmental problems may jeopardize their continued use. Long-term use of broad-spectrum pesticides may result in outbreaks of pests by destruction of their natural enemies. These drawbacks of synthetic pesticides have increased consumers' and growers' interest in natural insecticides originating from plants and their usage has increased in recent years. This book, therefore, provides information of effectiveness of various cole crops and neem oil concentrations on life table of this pest. Besides, this information the book is also providing the information about the effectiveness of various neem based insecticides on defferent stages of P. brassicae.