Entomopathogenic Nematodes for Sustainable Thrips Control in Nectarine Cultivation: Efficacy, Pollinator Safety, and Integrated Pest Management Strategies
, Athanasios Antonopoulos, Christina Panopoulou, Dimitrios Lazarakis and Antonios Tsagkarakis *Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authores
Thank you for your research Entomopathogenic Nematodes for Sustainable Thrips Control in Nectarine Cultivation: Efficacy, Pollinator Safety, and Integrated Pest Management Strategies. The use of entomopathogenic nematodes to reduce reliance on pesticides is a relevant and timely topic.
To improve the clarity and impact of your article, I recommend reviewing the methodology and results sections. Also, consider rewriting the conclusions to ensure they are fully supported by your findings. Observations are indicated in the text.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Comment: Indicate the descriptor and the year. Based on the zoological nomenclature code, when the scientific name is written for the first time it must be accompanied by the descriptor and the year.
Response: Correction addressed
Comment: Cite according to the journal's standards [1,6], without a space between the comma and the number.
Response: Citation corrected.
Comment: Write the species, since it is the first time it is mentioned in the text.
Response: Species was written in full.
Comment: Due to the type of research, it must include a hypothesis to be corroborated.
Response: Hypothesis is included.
Comment: How the trees differed from the control treatment
Response: Marking of trees is further explained.
Comment: In this part of the methodology it must be indicated that two applications were made and the time space between each application.
Response: Methodology correctly rephrased
Comment: Specify how many days after the first application you performed the second application
Response: Methodology correctly rephrased
Comment: It is not clear how many bioassays they performed.
Response: Additional information is included in the text.
Comment: For the bioassay with Apis mellifera, the same concentration of each product that was used in the field should have been used.
Response: In both the applications (against thrips and in honeybee bioassays), the same concentration (recommended by the manufacturer) was used. The vol of 16L was wrongly written (confused by the maximum sprayer volume).
Comment: Five replicas for each product are too few units to perform an analysis and conclude.
Response: We added in the text that the present experiment was an efficacy trial.
Comment: I suggest that the unit of the Y axis is: Average thrips per inflorescence
Response: Y axis title and legend were corrected.
Comment: The evaluation times indicated in the methodology do not coincide with those in the graph. The methodology says: . Sampling was conducted at four time points: (1) before the first application; (2) 24 hours after the first application; (3) at the time of the second application; and (4) seven days after the second application
Response: Methodology correctly rephrased
Comment: They cannot talk about the number of thrips per tree, because the unit of measurement was the inflorescence. To indicate that it is a population per tree, they would have had to have evaluated all the inflorescences of the tree or counted the total number of inflorescences and extrapolated.
Response: Apologies for the mistake, the legend and axis were corrected.
Comment: These two conclusions say the same thing.
Response: The specific part of the conclusion was rephrased.
Comment: I recommend summarizing the conclusions in three very specific ones.
Response: Conclusions were summarized.
Comment: This paragraph is part of discussion
Response: We agree and already corrected.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsNice little trial -- but should be published as a short communication or efficacy trial only until it has been expanded to include at least 2-3 years more data.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Comment: Were all the trees the same height?
Response: Yes, information added in the text.
Comment: How were they sprayed?
Response: Information included in the text.
Comment: How many bees/treatment?
Response: Information about honeybees per replicate added in the text.
Comment: Thrips per tree or per fruit??
Response: The right is thrips per inflorescence. Axis and legend corrected, according to both the reviewers.
Comment: So there was less then 1 feeding scar/fruit? From 10 fruits/tree at each of 4 sampling periods and 16 trees/treatment? Doesn’t seem like a very robust infestation? Probably should conduct this trial multiple times!
Response: Indeed, there was less than one scar per fruit, in average. Although, please consider that there were about 1.5 thrips per inflorescence (in the control), which reflects to 5Comment: 8 fruits each.
Comment: How many bees/treatment?
Response: N was added in the table
Comment: I don’t understand the use of a “,” in the numbers.
Response: The wrong use of comma was replaced by points.
Comment: Prey seeking
Response: Correction addressed.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsEntomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are important natural enemies of insect pests. In this study, the control effects of 2 species of EPNs against western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis were evaluated in a nectarine orchard, and toxicity of the nematodes on bees was tested in the laboratory. The results showed that one of the 2 EPNs species, Steinernema feltiae significantly reduced the trips populations and their damage on the fruits. However, both EPNs also caused bee mortality. The findings provide a new biological method for sustainable management of western flower thrips. I suggest receive after revise.
Comment:
- Western flower thrip is an important pest species of many important crops. But figure 1 showed that the population in this nectarine orchard was very low. Even the maximum of control was lower than 1.5 per tree (ten inflorescences). Why?
- In the study of Laboratory Bioassays for Pollinator Mortality, how many bee individuals were tested in 1 replicates?
- Figure 1, in additional to 14 days, the statistical analyses result of 1 day and 7 days should also be marked in the lines.
- Table 1, add 1 row in the top (Mortality) to make the table more self-explanatory. In the method of this study, it is said that experiments were conducted in 2 years (2023 and 2024). Does this mean the experiments were repeated 2 times?
- EPNs are usually applied in the soil to control underground pests. Trips also pupated in the soil. In this study, if the 2 EPNs are applied both on the trees and to the soil, they might receive more effective control result.
Author Response
Comment: Western flower thrip is an important pest species of many important crops. But figure 1 showed that the population in this nectarine orchard was very low. Even the maximum of control was lower than 1.5 per tree (ten inflorescences). Why?
Response: Thank you for the comment. As replied to the other Reviewers, we expressed thrips by tree by mistake, the correct is thrips per inflorescent.
Comment: In the study of Laboratory Bioassays for Pollinator Mortality, how many bee individuals were tested in 1 replicates?
Response: Number of bees is included in Table 1.
Comment: Figure 1, in additional to 14 days, the statistical analyses result of 1 day and 7 days should also be marked in the lines.
Response: Since time was found to be not significant in the repeated measures, connecting letters report to the treatment, as indicated in the legend.
Comment: Table 1, add 1 row in the top (Mortality) to make the table more selfComment: explanatory. In the method of this study, it is said that experiments were conducted in 2 years (2023 and 2024). Does this mean the experiments were repeated 2 times?
Response: Additional information is included in the text.
Comment: EPNs are usually applied in the soil to control underground pests. Trips also pupated in the soil. In this study, if the 2 EPNs are applied both on the trees and to the soil, they might receive more effective control result.
Response: This is a very good idea, which will be planned in our current experiment! Thank you!
