Planos de amostragem para a mosca-negra-dos-citros Aleurocanthus woglumi (Hemiptera : Aleyrodidae

Abstract

The establishment of conventional sampling plans is essential for the generation of integrated pest management (IPM) programs. The citrus blackfly Aleurocanthus woglumi is a serious pest of orange orchards. However, no sampling plans have been defined for this pest, thus hampering the implementation of IPM. Thus, the objective of this study was to establish feasible plans for conventional sampling schemes of A. woglumi in orange orchards. To this end, the sampled plant parts, number of samples and the time and cost required for an efficient population survey of egg mass, nymphs and adults of A. woglumi were determined. Our results showed that A. woglumi should be collected from the most basal leaves of a branch. The third basal leaf was the most appropriate sampling unit for egg mass and adults, while the second leaf was best suited for A. woglumi nymph sampling. The plans indicated 54, 35 and 58 samples for egg mass, nymphs and adults, respectively. The sampling effort required for the evaluation of all samples of each plan is low (possible in less than one hour) and costs less than R$ 10,00. Therefore, the developed sampling plans enable fast, efficient and low-cost decision-making as well as accurate and representative sampling.