Evaluation of the Varietal Impact of Two Citrus Species on Fluctuations of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and Beneficial Phytoseiid Mites

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript Evaluation of varietal impact [Nules (Mandarin), Valencia late (Orange)] on the fluctuations of Tetranychus urticae [Acari: 3 Tetranychidae] and phytoseiid mites.” has been improved and all my questions were taken into account. 

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Thank you for your positive comments.

Best regards

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,
I have carefully reviewed your manuscript.
At first impact, it seems to be improved from the initial version, however, further changes are needed.

I strongly recommend you to carry out professional editing of the English language, as it is currently very poor. I recommend that you use the professional service offered by MDPI. Most of the sentences need to be rewritten and well articulated, and many terms are used improperly.

I also suggest that you substantially expand the discussion section and correctly reference the different periods.

In the attached file, you will find all my comments and suggestions, including a new title proposal.

Good work!

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Thank you for your provided report. we have extensively revised our paper and the change is highlighted following the response to your comments.

Comment :

I strongly recommend you to carry out professional editing of the English language, as it is currently very poor. I recommend that you use the professional service offered by MDPI. Most of the sentences need to be rewritten and well articulated, and many terms are used improperly.

Response :

English has been largely checked by the authors and a native English-speaking;

Language corrections are highlighted in green

Comment :

I also suggest that you substantially expand the discussion section and correctly reference the different periods.

Response :

It’s done, We have taken your suggestion in consideration.

we have added many references, among others;

The good article on Sustainability journal about the application of a preemptive biological control strategy,  “Predator-In-First” (PIF), in regulating multiple pepper pests,

Kumar, V.; Mehra, L.; Mckenzie, C.L.; Osborne, L.S. “Predator-In-First”: A Preemptive Biological Control Strategy for Sustainable Management of Pepper Pests in Florida. Sustainability 2020, doi:10.3390/su12187816. Lines 277-283

Varietal impact on insect fluctuation ;

Amin, M.; Afrin, R.; Suh, S.; Kwon, Y. Infestation of sucking insect pests on five cotton cultivars and their impacts on varietal agronomic traits, biochemical contents, yield and quality. SAARC J. Agric. 2016, 14, 11–23, doi:10.3329/sja.v14i1.29572. Lines 288-293

M.R.Amin, Miah, H, Ramin, N.P.Nancy, A.K.A. Bhuiyan. Functional and group abundance of insects on eggplant. Bangladesh J. Agric. Res. 2018, 4, 647–653. Lines 288-289

Impact of environnemental conditions on insect evolutions (Insects journal) ;

Skendžić, S.; Zovko, M.; Živković, I.P.; Lešić, V.; Lemić, D. The impact of climate change on agricultural insect pests. Insects 2021, 12. (Lines 301-303).

The addition is highlighted in Purple.

unnecessary references have been removed.

Thank you for your suggestion.

Comment :

I suggest to the authors a new proposal for a more effective and comprehensive title:

"Evaluation of the varietal impact of two citrus species on fluctuations of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and beneficial phytoseid mites"

Response :

Good sugestion

The title has been changed as requested.

Comment :

Line 20 : Please add (2020-2021).

Response :

It’s donne. Line 26

Comment :

Line 38 ; Replace "planted" by "cultivated"

Response :

We have taken your suggestion in consideration. It’s replaced. The change is highlighted in Purple (Line 42)

Comment :

Line 45 : Dramatically, Please use a more appropriate term.

Response :

Thank you for your suggestion. Typing error. We have reformulated the sentence as follows ;

In comparison, exports to Russia have increased from 45% to 50% of all Moroccan exports. Lines 48-49.

The change is highlighted in purple.

Comment :

Line 48-49 ; In the Mediterranean basin, thrips are also economically important species that damage citrus production and therefore deserve to be mentioned.

I suggest a recent paper that might support this information:

https://www.mdpi.com/2311-7524/8/2/137

Response

Yes, I like the suggestion. It's a very interesting article on the status of thrips infestations

Line 50 : I cited this reference on our paper. (Reference number 7). I add thrips to the list of the most dangerous pests mentioned (Line 53).

Comment :

(Moringa oleifera), Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and (Verbena oflicinalis) (Please add the determinator).

Response

It’s done, lines 63-65

Comment :

Line 74-77 ; Please rephrase this clearly.

Response

The sentence was reworded as follows ;

The goal of this study is to evaluate the varietal impact of two citrus species [Nules (Mandarin), Valencia late (Orange)] on fluctuations of T. urticae and beneficial phytoseid mites (E. stipulatus, Typhlodromus sp, P. persimilis) during a 2 year span. (Lines 77-80).

Comment :

Please give the geographical coordinates as in the example below:

36°52’32.4” N 17°15’25.5” E

Response :

It’s done .

(34° 34′ 00″ N, 5° 57′ 00″ W). Line 84

Comment :

Line 86 ; Are you sure this is the correct symbol? Please check.

Response

it is corrected (Line 90-91).

Comment :

Figure 1 : replace "orchard" by "citrus orchards"

Response

It’s done

Comment :

Line 97 ; Replace directions by Sun exposure sector

Response

It’s done. Line 101

Comment :

Did you count the specimens in the field or in the laboratory? Please specify.

Response :

I have detailed and reformulated this sentence in the manuscript:

In the field, the total number of predators and phytophagous mites found on leaves was recorded on both surfaces of the leaf using a professional eye loupe 10x. Lines 103-105. The change is highlighted in purple

Comment :

I suggest to the authors to create a detailed table to report this information.

Response

Table 2 contains the monitoring dates and temperature recorded during the sampling process.

Comment :

Lines 119, 126 Please, in italics

Response

It’s done. The change is highlighted in purple

Comment :

Figure 2 and 3; Replace "proportions" by "Abundnce of"

Response :

It’s done

Comment :

Please clarify (Figure 4).

Response :

Yes, I clarified in the text with this sentence ;

P. persimilis was absent on Nules

Comment :

Figures 2 and 3 ; Please replace "First year" and "second year" by "2020" and "2021"

Response :

It’s done

Comment :

Please present the data in a single table. As presented, they are messy and unclear.

Response :

It’s done, we have reorganized all the results in one table

 

Table 1:  Table 1: Varietal impact on different mite populations in first (2020) and second year 2021. Page 5.

 

Year	Source	DF	Adj SS	Adj MS	F-Value	P-Value
	Varietal impact on T. urticae	1	4141	4141,2	4,51	0,035*
	Varietal impact on E. stipulatus	1	156,0	156,0	0,80	0,373
2020	Varietal impact on Typhlodromus sp	1	1216	1215,51	18,15	0,000*
	Varietal impact on P. persimilis	1	2410	2410,26	135,12	0,000*
	Varietal impact on T. urticae	1	265	265,2	0,38	0,540
	Varietal impact on E. stipulatus	1	184,9	184,9	0,88	0,350
2021	Varietal impact on Typhlodromus sp	1	1782	1782,23	46,75	0,000*
	Varietal impact on P. persimilis	1	562,5	562,50	22,42	0,000*

*Statistically significant p-values (p＜0.05）.

Comment

How and where the temperature data were obtained. Please report this information in Materials and Methods.

Response

Temperature data were collected in field, using Davis Instruments Vantage Pro2. Lines 112-113

Comment :

Please split the figure into two separate graphs.

The new graphs must take into account the overall trend for 2020 and 2021 respectively.

Figure 6 should then be deleted.

Response

I have split the figure as requested. I added the general trend for T. urticae and beneficial phytoseiid mites.

Please note that R²= 0,85 for T. urticae in 2020, R²=0,78 for Phytoseid mites in 2020.

R²= 0,84 for T. urticae in 2021, R²= 0,76 for Phytoseid mites in 2021.

I can't delete figure 6 because it shows the results according to the monitoring dates for the second orange species (Nules).

I can separate it also like the previous figure ?

Comment :

This section needs to be strongly improved.

Response :

We have taken your suggestion in consideration.

we have added more references in this section. Below the added references;

Amin, M.; Afrin, R.; Suh, S.; Kwon, Y. Infestation of sucking insect pests on five cotton cultivars and their impacts on varietal agronomic traits, biochemical contents, yield and quality. SAARC J. Agric. 2016, 14, 11–23, doi:10.3329/sja.v14i1.29572.

Skendžić, S.; Zovko, M.; Živković, I.P.; Lešić, V.; Lemić, D. The impact of climate change on agricultural insect pests. Insects 2021, 12.

M.R.Amin, Miah, H, Ramin, N.P.Nancy, A.K.A. Bhuiyan. Functional and group abundance of insects on eggplant. Bangladesh J. Agric. Res. 2018, 4, 647–653.

Kumar, V.; Mehra, L.; Mckenzie, C.L.; Osborne, L.S. “Predator-In-First”: A Preemptive Biological Control Strategy for Sustainable Management of Pepper Pests in Florida. Sustainability 2020, doi:10.3390/su12187816.

The additions are highlighted in purple

Comment :

Line Replace"open" by "in open"

Response

It’s done (Line  254)

Comment :

Replace "the proportion" by "the abundance"

Response

Its done (Line  259)

Comment :

Reference; scientific names of species in italic

Response

It’s done (The changes are highlighted in purple).

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors,

 

I have added a few more corrections. Just make sure you have complied with all the suggestions of the other reviewers. For example under the abstract one reviewer asked you the give more information and you just duplicated the first sentence (in green). I also pick up more spelling mistakes.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Thank you for your positive comments.

Comment :

Replace "Monitoring of the" with "The"

Response :

It’s  done the corretion is highlighted in yellow. Line 23

Comment :

Replace "their" with "its"

Response :

It’s done. Line 23

Comment :

This is a duplicate of the fist sentence. Delete. Line 20-21

Response :

It’s done, We have taken your suggestion in consideration. And we have added this sentence as below;

was studied in citrus orchards in Machraa Belksiri at the Gharb region of Morocco in the years 2020-2021.(Lines 25-26).

Comment :

Replace "to" with "with". Line 38

Response :

It’s done, Line 42

Comment :

Is 5% a "dramatically increase"?

Response :

Thank you for your suggestion Typing error. We have reformulated the sentence as follows ;

In comparison, exports to Russia have increased from 45% to 50% of all Moroccan exports. Lines 48-49.

Comment :

Replace "From" by "of" and delete "of" (Line 52).

Response :

It’s done, the correction is highlighted in yellow (Line 56).

Comment :

Replace "on " with "preying on" (Line 64 and 74).

Response :

It’s done, the correction is highlighted in yellow. (Line 67 – 77) 

Comment :

Add "in' between "urticae"and "open" (Line 69)

Response :

It’s done, the correction is highlighted in green. Line 72

Comment :

Replace "vegetables cultures" with "vegetables" Line 84

Replace "the" with "its" Line 85

Response :

It’s done. The correction is highlighted in green. Line 87

It’s done. Line 88

Comment :

(Citrus Clementina) If this is a species name then the C must be lower case. (Line 93)

Response :

Typing error. it is corrected. Line 96

Comment :

Replace "their" with "its"

Response :

It’s done (Line 97).

Comment :

Did you counted only the mobiles as mentioned elsewhere in the manuscript?

Response :

yes. mobile forms (live mites)

Comment :

Replace "weakest species" by "least" (Line 119)

Replace "abundoning" by "abundant" (Line 121)

Response :

It’s done (Line 127).

It’s done (Line 129).

Comments :

Delete "a portion of" (Line 122)

Replace "by" with "with" (Line 124)

Replace " forms"with "specimens" (Lines 125 -126-128-130)

Species names must be in Italics (Lines 126-128)

Responses :

It’s done. The corrections are highlighted in yellow

Comments :

Replace the comma and bracket with "with"(Line 150)

Responses :

It’s done. Line 159

Comments :

Replace full stop with a comma (Line 155)

Responses :

It’s done. Line 164

Comment :

This sounds as if this was the temperatures of the mobiles? (Line 199)

Response :

Typping error, word "mobiles" supressed

Comments :

-Replace "Starting from" with "From" (Line 200)

-Replace "when" with "when the" (Line 201)

-Replace "going" with "increasing"

Responses :

-It’s done (Line 196)

-It’s done (Line 196)

-It’s done (Line 197)

Comment :

Replace "beyond that" with "Hereafter" (Line 211)

Responses :

It’s done (Line 207)

Comment :

Delete this, in the begining of the sentence you alreadt sais "last 4 weeks".

Responses :

It’s done

Comment :

Remove brackets (Line 232)

Responses :

It’s done (Line 231-233)

Comment :

Replace open with in open

Responses :

It’s done  (line 253). open replaced with in the open field

Comment :

Delete "the"(Line 257)

lower case "D" (Line 259)

Responses :

It’s done .

Sincerely

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Congratulations to the authors! I am pleased with the improvements to the manuscript.

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript "Evolution of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and
their predators; Euseius stipulatus, Typhlodromus sp and Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on Two citrus varieties" aimed to assess the role of citrus variety on the abundance of a pest and three predators. Although the topic is worthy of investigation, I found the study to present critical flaws, which makes it unsuitable for publication.

1. The entire data set was collected during two months (8 weeks), which in my view, is not sufficient. The assessments should have been performed at least during two agricultural years to capture sufficiently well the effect of citrus variety (and environmental variables) on mite abundance.
2.   Tables and figures should be improved. First, it is redundant to present the same data twice, as occurred for table 1 and figure 4, table 2 and figure 5, and table 4 and figure 6. You should have used one of the alternatives (table or figure, although I prefer to use figure).
3. Some terms used in the draft are awkward, including "pullulation" and "abandonment". An English check is advised for clarity.
4. The authors state "the increase in temperature showed a significant effect on the evolution of the mites studied" but no analysis was performed to verify this.
5. You state "Our results show that the 2 varieties studied Nules and valencia late have a significant impact on the evolution of the two predators E. stipulatis and P. persimilis", but this is true for TY and PP, not for ES.

Reviewer 2 Report

These are my main comments on the manuscript (Sustainability-1537225) entitled “Evolution of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) and their predators; Euseius stipulatus, Typhlodromus sp and Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acari: Phytoseiidae) on Two citrus varieties”. The manuscript examines the potential of predatory mites to manage Tetranychus urticae. This study concluded a synergic control caused by various Acari species; also, constitutes an alternative to chemical control. Following moderated revisions should be incorporated in the manuscript prior to acceptance.

1. I have concerns about the introduction section of the paper that I believe need to be addressed in order to improve its clarity.
2. In results, information statistical methods are missing (F-value, degree freedom, and p-value). For each experiment, data should be statistically analyzed and incorporated in results section.
3. Other revisions could be checked in PDF attached.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors, I have carefully read your manuscript. The topic you propose is interesting and topical and pursues the objectives of environmental sustainability in agriculture. However, while I appreciate your effort, I believe the work is not ready for publication. I suggest a complete revision of the different sections. I am also not convinced by the proposed title, as it is unclear and straightforward. Furthermore, I recommend that you identify keywords that are different from those in the title to increase its visibility in the various search platforms. All sections need to be improved. Specifically: The introduction needs to be expanded in order to provide a clear view of the topic addressed. The results need strict analysis, they should leave no doubt and the graphs should be accurate and of high quality. The discussion should be completely rewritten. Please use consistent and appropriate references. In the attached file, you will find several suggestions that I invite you to follow strongly to improve the quality of your manuscript. The general presentation of the work is very poor. I strongly propose that you improve the text by a native English-speaking colleague. All the best!

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf