The blackish cicada, Cryptotympana atrata Fabricius, 1775 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) was originally distributed mainly in the southernmost remote island, Jeju and rarely throughout low lands in South Korea, but has been explosively increased at the urban areas, where annual temperature is higher. In this study, we sequenced a partial mitochondrial COI from a total of 171 individuals collected throughout 12 localities in South Korea. The haplotype found with the highest frequency in Jeju island shares only with two inland localities in southern region with a low frequency, whereas the haplotype found with the highest frequency throughout inland localities was not found in Jeju island. These results showed that Jeju population, southern region, and other inland populations form somewhat different genetic groups.

The large copper butterfly Lycaena dispar (Haworth, 1803; Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) has been categorized as a near-threatened species (NT) in South Korea from 2012 mainly due to limited distribution. In this study, we visited 36 sites spread across all South Korean provinces to verify the distributional range of the species and sequenced mitochondrial COI for 53 individuals from nine sites. We observed L. dispar at 15 sites in six provinces, including the two previously known provinces, indicating a southward range expansion. The in-field monitoring and genetic data collectively suggested that L. dispar does not have a limited distribution nor is it isolated, indicating that it should be reclassified as less vulnerable. Our study demonstrates that the combination of field and genetic data can provide a more reliable assessment of the stability of a species.

The recent increase in the occurrence of common bed bug and tropical bed bug in shared areas highlights the need for rapid species identification at infestation sites, which is crucial for implementing targeted control measures due to differences in genetic and physiological traits. In this study, molecular diagnostic methods were developed using species-specific ITS2 sequences. Both multiplex PCR and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) protocols with a DNA release method successfully distinguished between the two bed bug species regardless of developmental stages in 0.5~2.5 hours, even with dead specimens. Especially, LAMP's simplicity and speed make it applicable for rapid and accurate bed bug diagnosis at infestation sites.

강원특별자치도 18개 시군을 대상으로 감나무와 콩에 발생하는 미국선녀벌레, 썩덩나무노린재, 담배거세미 나방의 발생을 조사하였다. 돌발해충인 미국선녀벌레는 약충기인 6월과 성충기인 10월에 발생조사를 진행하고 남방계해충인 담배거세미나방과 썩덩나무노린재는 7월과 9월 콩 재배기에 발생조사를 진행하였다. 미국선녀 벌레는 강원지역에 있는 감나무에서 발생을 확인할 수 없었고. 감나무 주변 기타 수목에서 가지당 평균 6.7마리 발생하였다. 담배거세미나방은 7월, 속초를 제외한 모든 시군에서 발생이 되었으며, 춘천, 횡성에서 트랩당 60마 리가 넘는 발생밀도를 보였으며, 원주, 강릉, 화천 등 에서는 트랩당 1마리로 낮은 발생밀도를 나타냈다. 썩덩나무 노린재는 7월 춘천, 속초, 홍천 등 7개 시군을 제외한 11개 시군에서 트랩에 포획되는 것을 확인하였으며, 화천에 서 트랩당 26마리로 최고발생밀도를 보였다.

The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), which is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Western Hemisphere is now annually arrives in Korea. In this study, we developed loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, one of the main merits of which is a rapid identification of target species. Five among 11 FAW-specific loci tested successfully provided a consistent reaction when ten FAWs, which were collected from eight localities in four countries were tested, whereas the 13 non-target species were not amplified. To increase in-field applicability of the method all life stages, reaction time, and different periods after death was tested using the quick extracted DNA. Our FAW diagnostic protocol can be completed within 30 min, from the process of extracting genomic DNA from an egg or a 1st instar larva to species determination.

Non-destructive estimation of leaf area is a more efficient and convenient method than leaf excision. Thus, several models predicting leaf area have been developed for various horticultural crops. However, there are limited studies on estimating the leaf area of strawberry plants. In this study, we predicted the leaf areas via nonlinear regression analysis using the leaf lengths and widths of three-compound leaves in five domestic strawberry cultivars (‘Arihyang’, ‘Jukhyang’, ‘Keumsil’, ‘Maehyang’, and ‘Seollhyang’). The coefficient of determination (R2) between the actual and estimated leaf areas varied from 0.923 to 0.973. The R2 value varied for each cultivar; thus, leaf area estimation models must be developed for each cultivar. The leaf areas of the three cultivars ‘Jukhyang’, ‘Seolhyang’, and ‘Maehyang’ could be non-destructively predicted using the model developed in this study, as they had R2 values over 0.96. The cultivars ‘Arihyang’ and ‘Geumsil’ had slightly low R2 values, 0.938 and 0.923, respectively. The leaf area estimation model for each cultivar was coded in Python and is provided in this manuscript. The estimation models developed in this study could be used extensively in other strawberry-related studies.

‘다하’는 농촌진흥청 국립식량과학원 고령지농업연구소에서 2018년도 육성한 사계성 딸기 신품종이다. ‘다하’는 ‘새봉3호’ 를 모본으로 하고 ‘고하’를 부본으로 2012년 교배하여, 고온 장일 조건에서 과실이 크고 화방이 연속적으로 출현되는 우수한 사계성 개체를 선발한 것이다. 대관령의 여름재배 작형에서 2015년부터 2016년까지 생산력 및 특성검정을 거쳐 ‘새봉 10호’로 계통명을 부여하고, 지역적응성 시험을 거쳐 ‘다하’로 명명하였다. ‘다하’의 초형은 반개장형이며, 초세가 왕성하다. 과실모양은 원추형이며, 과색은 붉은 색이다. ‘다하’의 화방장은 25.3 cm 로 대조품종인 ‘고하’보다 14.1 cm 더 짧았다. 또한 ‘다하’의 출현화방수는 12.3개로 ‘고하’의 15.0개보다 2.7개 더 적게 발 생하였다. ‘다하’의 평균과중은 12.0 g으로 ‘고하’의 9.0 g보다 3.0 g 더 무거웠다. 그러나 과실품질은 두 품종 모두 비슷하였다. ‘다하’의 상품수량은 45,972 kg·ha-1로 ‘고하’의 21,481 kg·ha-1 보다 214% 증수되었다. 따라서 ‘다하’는 대과성이며 수확량이 많은 사계성 품종으로 농가보급 시 높은 소득이 기대된다.