The biological properties of chilean propolis have been described and include antibacterial, antifungal and antibiofilm activities. Propolis has a strong antimicrobial potential. Clinical experiences with synthetic antibiotics indicated the need to discover new sources of bioactive compounds associated with ethnopharmacological knowledge or natural sources such as propolis. The microscopic analysis of pollen grains from plants allows us to determine the botanical origin of the propolis samples. In Angol, sample pollen grains were obtained from fodder plants ( Sorghum bicolor; Lotus sp. ) and trees, such as Acacia sp. , Pinus radiata, Eucalyptus sp. and Salix babylonica . Propolis from the Maule region contains pollen grains from endemic plants such as Quillaja saponaria . Finally, the sample obtained from Melipilla presented a wider variety of pollen extracted from vegetable species.Colorimetric assays performed to quantify the total polyphenols present in Chilean propolis samples established that PCP2 (Angol sample) showed high amounts of phenolics compounds, with significant statistical differences in comparison with the other samples. The main compounds identified were pinocembrin, quercetin and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE). The Angol sample showed a high content of polyphenols.Studies that determine the influence of geographical and floral variables on the chemical composition of propolis are a valuable source of information for the study of its biological properties.

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Frankliniella bispinosa (Morgan) is the key pest of southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L. × V. darrowi Camp) in Florida. Thrips feeding and oviposition injury to developing flowers can result in fruit scarring that renders the fruit unmarketable. Previous studies have shown that flower thrips can disperse into cultivated crops from surrounding host plants. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to identify alternate hosts of F. bispinosa adjacent to blueberry plantings and to determine if F. bispinosa emigrates into blueberry plantings from these hosts. Plant surveys conducted in Apr of 2007 and from Nov 2007 until Mar 2008 revealed several reproductive hosts of F. bispinosa, including: Carolina geranium (Geranium carolinianum L.), white clover (Trifolium repens L.), and wild radish (Raphanus raphanistum L.). In a subsequent study, we monitored thrips population development in a blueberry planting and in an adjacent white clover field during early spring in 2009 and 2010. Flower thrips populations in the white clover and blueberry planting developed at the same time with the highest numbers of thrips recorded from the center of the blueberry field in both years. Although white clover grows abundantly adjacent to blueberry plantings in the spring our findings indicate that clover does not appear to be a significant source for thrips inoculation of southern highbush blueberry plantings in Northern Florida.

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