Entomofauna associada ao meloeiro (Cucumis melo L.) no semiárido de Pernambuco

Abstract

The culture of the melon has a big importance to the semi-arid region, but the occurrence of insects associated with the crops, mainly Liriomyza sativae Blanchard (Diptera: Agromyzidae) and Bemisia tabaci (Gennardius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) have been contributing to the reduction of crop productivity in the region. As there are very few studies evaluating the entomofauna related to this crop in Brazil, the objective of this research was to verify the insect fauna associated with the melon and analyze the ecological factors that interact with it in the sertão of Pernambuco. The studies were conducted in four commercial areas in the municipality of Floresta (PE) in two different periods. The first from June until September 2015 (average temperature of 24,8 °C) and from March until May 2016 (average temperature of 29,3 °C). The following factors were evaluated: (I) population dynamics of the main pests and influences of ecological factors; (II) the occurrence of competition among populations of these pests; And (III) the diversity of insects captured by the types of Moericke and Pitfall traps. The results showed that the main pest of the melon in the studied areas were B. tabaci and L. sativae and that the population dynamics of the same were influenced by ecological factors. The whitefly predominated in the season of higher temperature and lower relative humidity of the air. Besides that, it was verified that there was competition among the populations of L. sativae and B. tabaci, with predominance of this last species. In relation to the diversity of insects, this was presented low to moderate and that the rates found had low variations between the areas. The main insect families found in the researches were Aleyrodidae, Agromyzidae, Apidae, Braconidae and Thripidae in traps of the Moericke type and Labiduridae, Gryllidae, Formicidae and Chloropidae in Pitfall.