Avaliação do desempenho do caruncho Zabrotes subfasciatus em diferentes hospedeiros alternativos

Abstract

The weevil Zabrotes subfasciatus is one of the main stored grain pests of the Fabaceae family. The attack of this insect directly affects the quality of the beans, their flavor, appearance and acceptability by the consumer. In order to seek alternatives for the control of this pest, the objective of this work was to evaluate the biological performance and choice behavior of Z. subfasciatus in different alternative hosts. The experiment was conducted at the Phytosanitary Clinic of the Agronomic Engineering department of the Federal University of Sergipe, where the oviposition rate, number of emerged insects, average insect weight, sex ratio and biological cycle were evaluated. Therefore, bioassays with and without choice were carried out, using a completely randomized experimental design (DIC), containing seven treatments and six replications. For the no-choice bioassay, plastic containers were used, containing 10 grams of grains of each variety, infested by 7 pairs of Z. subfasciatus that remained confined for 8 days. For the bioassay with a chance of choice, plastic arenas were made, lined inside with Styrofoam trays and plastic pots containing 10 grams of grains of each variety, infested with 7 pairs of Z. subfasciatus per variety, totaling 49 pairs per arena. According to the results, the varieties of beans and pods were the most attractive species for the insect, providing an optimal performance in all biological parameters evaluated, while the varieties of lentil, peanut and soybean caused 100% larval mortality and high effect of deterrence on the oviposition of Z. subfasciatus. All these results indicate that the fabacea species present differentiated susceptibility to attack of Z. subfasciatus.