Stereo binocular microscope

A total of 5 day old cowpea seedlings were used for the experiment. One day old nymphs were released on the cowpea seedlings using zero size camel hairbrush @ 10 per seedling. Once the aphids settled, the fungal spore suspension (1 * 10⁷ spores/ml and 10 ml for five seedlings) was sprayed using an atomizer. Old and wilted seedlings were replaced with fresh and untreated one. Mortality was measured at each 24 h interval up to 168 h after spray. Dead nymphs were immediately placed in the sterile Petri plate with damp sterile filter paper for mycosis and sporulation. Each experiment was carried out independently. The experiment was repeated four times. Five independent replications with thirty insects per replication were maintained for each treatment. The treated insect was declared dead if no coordinated movement was noticed to the external stimulus (i.e., when gently touched with a fine paint brush) under Nikon stereo binocular microscope having camera attached with the software VIMAGE 2016.

Living plants and samples of Alliumheterophyllum were collected in Songxian county (33°41'25.61"N, 111°59'24.31"E, Altitude: 1347 m), Henan province, China. Voucher specimens were deposited at the herbarium of Sichuan University (SZ). Measurements of flowers, leaves, scapes, bulbs and rhizomes were taken from living plants and examined and measured by stereo binocular microscope (Nikon, Japan). A total of 18 diagnostic characteristics of the new species were identified and compared to six closely-related species in the Alliumsect.Rhizirideum.