Manejo de Neoleucinodes elegantalis (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) no agreste de Pernambuco com Trichogramma pretiosum Riley (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) e produtos fitossanitários seletivos

Abstract

Tomato is a crop of great economic and social importance in Brazil. The production obtained in Brazil place as the eighth largest tomato producer in the world. Among the insect pests that causes damage tomato fruits severly, the lesser tomoto borere, Neoleucinodes elegantalis (Guenée) (Lepdoptera: Crambidae) is the most important. Control adopted to this pest is practically dependent on the use of synthetic insecticides, without taking into account, in most crops, monitoring, levels of damage, action and non-action decision levels, insecticide selectivity, and environmental management practices, which are the principles of integrated pest management (IPM). The parasitoids of eggs belonging to the genus Trichogramma have been widely used in biological control, mainly due to their easy of rearing and efficiency in the control of several species of lepidopteran pest species. Therefore, it is very opportune to carry out surveys and identification of Trichogramma species in the Agreste region of Pernambuco, evaluations regarding the selectivity of insecticides registered for pest control to the parasitoid, the percentage of parasitized eggs and the number of damaged fruits in the different treatments. Among the tested products, the insecticides Metomil and Indoxacarbe showed to be more promising for the control of N. elegantalis, promoting a reduction about 75% in the losses caused by the pest and saving in the use of insecticides in about 50%.