Interações cochonilha-de-listra Ferrisia virgata Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) e algodoeiro

Abstract

The striped mealybug, Ferrisia virgata Cockerell (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae), was recently recorded naturally occurring in differnt cotton fields in Brazil. Aiming a proper control of this insect is essential to obtain information about the life history of the pest on cotton plants and the interactions with this host plant under variable conditions of its environment. This work evaluated the population growth and verified the within-plant distribution of different stages of the pest using four cotton cultivars. Further, development and reproduction of the mealybug was determined under varied conditions of temperature (25, 27, and 28°C), mating status, and host plant condition regarding nitrogen fertilization and water stress. The cotton plants were artificially infested with neonate nymphs and the number of females and the total of individuals were recorded after 25 and 50 days, respectively. Also, the offspring production was evaluated using the factitious host and cotton plants with or without subjecting the plants to water stress with mated and unmated females. The rate of mealybug establishment on cotton plants from artificial infestation, development, type of reproduction, number of offspring produced and their sex ratio was determined on cotton plant submitted to nitrogen fertilization and water stress. The withinplant distribution of F. virgata is characterized with mealybugs being found in all plant strucutres for second generation of offspring with a numerical growth superior to 412 folds and similar across all four cotton cultivars studied. The temperatures of 27 and 28°C were favorable to the development and reproduction of F.virgata, while the nymphal viability was superior at 25oC. Under our studied conditions, F. virgata female exhibited only sexual reproduction, hence, with offspring production only by mated females, while unmated females die without offspring production. The offspring production was twice greater on plants subjected to water stress and with successive N fertilizations. Thus, we can conclude that the information generated with this work brings contribution to the knowledge of the potential of this species to reach the status of cotton pest.