Five pyridine derivatives, namely, N-morpholinium 7,7-dimethyl-3-cyano-4-(4′-nitrophenyl)-5-oxo-1,4,5,6,7,8-hexahydroquinoline-2-thiolate (1), sodium 5-acetyl-3-amino-4-(4′-methoxyphenyl)-6-methylthieno[2,3-b] pyridine-2-carboxylate (2), piperidinium 3,5-dicyano-2-oxo-4-spirocyclopentane-1,2,3,4-tetrahydropyridine-6-thiolate (3), piperidinium 5-acetyl-3-cyano-4-(4′-methoxyphenyl)-6-methylpyridine-2-thiolate (4), and piperidinium 5-acetyl-4-(4′-chlorophenyl)-3-cyano-6-methylpyridine- 2-thiolate (5) were prepared in pure state and subjected to the title study. The bioassay results indicated that the insecticidal activity of compound 1 is about 4-fold that of acetamiprid insecticide. The rest of the tested compounds possess moderate to strong aphidicidal activities.

Cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae) is a key pest of cotton plants in Egypt. A two-year field study was conducted at Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Egypt, during 2013 and 2014 growing seasons to determined the efficiency of acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, pirimicarb and malathion on cotton aphid and selectivity effects of these insecticides on Coccinella undecimpunctata L. and Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens). The results indicated that thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, acetamiprid and imidacloprid proved to be the most effective insecticides in reducing cotton aphid population up to 21 days after treatment throughout both seasons and caused an average reduction percentage ranged from 73.58 to 96.42%%, whereas pirimicarb and malathion showed the lowest reduction with an average ranged 38.08 to 66.68 % at different exposure dates during 2013 and 2014 seasons. In addition, the selectivity effects of acetamiprid, imidacloprid, pirimicarb and malathion reduced the population of C. undecimpunctata with an average ranged from 78.05 to 96.43% and were classified as harmful. Thiamethoxam reduced the population with an average ranged from 68.72 to 69.20% and was classified as moderately harmful. Dinotefuran showed a slightly harmful effect to C. undecimpunctata with an average reduction 44.3 and 41.81% during 2013 and 2014 seasons. On the other hand, acetamiprid and dinotefuran caused a significant reduction in the population of C. carnea with an average ranged from 28.28 to 56.52% and were classified as harmless. Thiamethoxam and imidacloprid reduced the population with an average ranged from 55.53 and 64.39% and were classified as moderately harmful. By contrast, malathion and pirimicarb showed the highest reduction in the population with an average ranged from 67.15 to 96.57% and were classified as harmful during both seasons. These results suggested that, the selection of a suitable insecticide in an IPM program to control the cotton aphid not only depends on its efficiency against the aphid but also its toxicity to natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) and its persistence.

Cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae) is a key pest of cotton plants in Egypt. A two-year field study was conducted at Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Egypt, during 2013 and 2014 growing seasons to determined the efficiency of acetamiprid, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, pirimicarb and malathion on cotton aphid and selectivity effects of these insecticides on Coccinella undecimpunctata L. and Chrysoperla carnea (Stephens). The results indicated that thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, acetamiprid and imidacloprid proved to be the most effective insecticides in reducing cotton aphid population up to 21 days after treatment throughout both seasons and caused an average reduction percentage ranged from 73.58 to 96.42%%, whereas pirimicarb and malathion showed the lowest reduction with an average ranged 38.08 to 66.68 % at different exposure dates during 2013 and 2014 seasons. In addition, the selectivity effects of acetamiprid, imidacloprid, pirimicarb and malathion reduced the population of C. undecimpunctata with an average ranged from 78.05 to 96.43% and were classified as harmful. Thiamethoxam reduced the population with an average ranged from 68.72 to 69.20% and was classified as moderately harmful. Dinotefuran showed a slightly harmful effect to C. undecimpunctata with an average reduction 44.3 and 41.81% during 2013 and 2014 seasons. On the other hand, acetamiprid and dinotefuran caused a significant reduction in the population of C. carnea with an average ranged from 28.28 to 56.52% and were classified as harmless. Thiamethoxam and imidacloprid reduced the population with an average ranged from 55.53 and 64.39% and were classified as moderately harmful. By contrast, malathion and pirimicarb showed the highest reduction in the population with an average ranged from 67.15 to 96.57% and were classified as harmful during both seasons. These results suggested that, the selection of a suitable insecticide in an IPM program to control the cotton aphid not only depends on its efficiency against the aphid but also its toxicity to natural enemies (predators and parasitoids) and its persistence.

The present experiment was carried out using 900 Japanese quail eggs to study the pre and post hatch performance of different egg colors incubated either under darkness or lighting conditions. All eggs were classified into three categories according to shell colors (white, spotted violet and spotted brown eggs), and incubated under the recommended conditions of the quail eggs under darkness or lighting. The results showed that the spotted brown eggs have significantly (P≤0.05) the thicker egg shell than those of spotted violet and white. All of the other traits of physical and chemical composition were not significantly changed. However, the effect of egg shell color on embryonic weight was significant (P≤0.05) at 10, 12 and 14 days of incubation. The spotted brown eggs showed significantly (P≤0.05) the higher percentages of hatchability even incubated under darkness or lighting (72.64 and 72.69%, respectively). The chick weight at hatch was significantly (P≤0.05) heavier in group of spotted brown egg color even incubated in darkness or lighting (7.94 and 7.96 g, respectively) than the other groups of eggs. However, each of check weight loss (%), chick sex and chick quality were not influenced by egg shell color. Furthermore, chicks produced from spotted brown eggs showed significantly the higher values of body weight gain (3.86 and 3.85 g) even incubated under lighting or darkness. There are no significant differences in egg mass and feed conversion ratio. Also, each of plumage conditions, leg problems and mortality (%) from hatch to 20 weeks of age were not significantly changed due egg shell colors even incubated under darkness or lighting conditions. Therefore, it could be concluded that selecting eggs of spotted brown and spotted violet of colored shell to get the best possible pre and post hatching performance, which positively reflect on the profit which could be gained by the producers.

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