Introduction. The genus Saissetia has 47 described species in the world, four of them in Mexico (S. oleae, S. miranda, S. neglecta and S. tolucana). These species attack different crops, including citrus, olives and ornamentals. Most introductions of natural enemies against S. oleae have been undertaken in North and South America, Australia and the Mediterranean countries. However, no natural enemy species have been purposedly introduced into Mexico against Saissetia spp. Materials and methods. During 1998–2003, samples of Saissetia spp. were collected in the States of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Oaxaca and Guanajuato; all the emerged parasitoids were determined. Appropriate scientific publications were consulted to find out about any other Saissetia parasitoids recorded from Mexico. Results and discussion. Seventeen parasitoid species from five families of Chalcidoidea (Aphelinidae, Encyrtidae, Eupelmidae, Pteromalidae and Signiphoridae) were reared from Saissetia spp. in Mexico. Conclusions. In Mexico, the species of Saissetia prefer ornamental plants and are usually heavily parasitized by several chalcidoids. Native biological control of Saissetia spp. by different parasitoids has been effective for many years in Mexico. As a result, the species of Saissetia are not considered as primary or secondary pests of citrus and ornamentals.

Introduction. Litter on the ground is a primary source of Botrytis cinerea inoculum in boysenberry (Rubus hybrid) gardens. The effect of litter management on primary inoculum production, and flower and berry infections was determined. Materials and methods. A series of experiments ranging from laboratory to large-scale field evaluations were conducted in New Zealand during 1997-2002 to evaluate litter management options for control of B. cinerea. The laboratory trial investigated the effect of litter size (shredded vs. unshredded litter) and debris amendments on tissue degradation and B. cinerea colonization. The field trial (four sites) investigated the effect of litter amendments (compost, urea and fungicide) and piling litter on B. cinerea sporulation. In the 4-year commercial-scale study (three properties), the effect of litter treatment (piling, compost and microbial extracts/suspensions) on primary inoculum, flower and berry infections was assessed. Results and discussion. The laboratory trial showed that bark + sewage sludge compost amendment enhanced litter decomposition and reduced B. cinerea sporulation on infected tissue after 8 weeks. The field trial indicated that piling of shredded boysenberry debris was more important than litter amendments in reducing the amount of B. cinerea harbored within the litter. Commercial field-scale evaluation of litter management options verified that piling of shredded litter is the most important step in B. cinerea inoculum control from debris. It also showed that microbial litter amendments (compost, solutions or extracts) can be beneficial. While B. cinerea inoculum control also reduced the amount of flower infections, berry infections at harvest were not affected, indicating that other sources of B. cinerea inoculum contribute to berry infection post-flowering.