The objective of this study was to know the in vitro effects of supplemental anthelmintic plant extracts on the inhibition of protozoa for reducing methane production in the rumen. A fistulated Holstein cow was used as a donor of rumen fluid. The plant extracts (Lonicera japonica, Zanthoxylum piperitum, Pyrethrum, Torreya nucifera, Ruta graveolens) known to have anthelmintic effect were added to the in vitro fermentation bottles containing the rumen fluid and medium. The rumen protozoal population was depressed by the addition of Pyrethrum, Torreya nucifera and Ruta graveolens. The methane production was also significantly (p<0.05)reduced by addition of Pyrethrum (2.20 ml/g DM), Torreya nucifera (2.36 ml/g DM) and Ruta graveolens (2.20 ml/g DM). The microbial growth in the treatments of Ruta graveolens or anthoxylum piperitum was the greatest after 12 h and 24 h incubations, respectively. The results of this study indicated that anthelmintic plant extracts appeared to reduce methane production by inhibition of ruminal protozoa related with the methanogens living endosymbiotic in protozoal cells.

Predation, development, and ovipostion experiments were conducted to evaluate Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae) as a potential biological control agent for tomato russet mite, Aculops lycopersici (Massee) (Acari: Eriophyidae) which is a periodic pest of greenhouse tomatoes. Results show that A. swirskii attacked all developmental stages of A. lycopersici, and had a type II functional response on the prey densities given. The predation rates of A. swirskii on A. lycopersici in the presense of alternative food sources such as pollen, thrips first instar, or whitefly eggs were recorded as 74%, 56%, and 76%, respectively of the predation rate on A. lycopersici alone. Amblyseius swirskii successfully completed their life-cycle on either A. lycopersici or cattail pollen. At 25oC, 70% RH, development time of female A. swirskii fed on A. lycopersici or on cattail pollen took 5.0 and 6.2 days, respectively. For the first 10 days after moulting to the adult stage, A. swirskii fed on A. lycopersici had higher daily oviposition rate (2.0 eggs per day) than on pollen (1.5 eggs per day). From this laboratory study, it can be concluded that A. swirskii has promising traits as a predator against A. lycopersici and that their populations can be stably maintained using alternative food such as cattail pollen. We suggest that the effectiveness of A. swirskii against A. lycopersici under field conditions deserves to be investigated.