&lt;b&gt;Biological control of phytophagous arthropods in the physic nut tree &lt;i&gt;Jatropha curcas&lt;/i&gt; L. in Brazil

Flávio Lemes Fernandes,Luis Antônio Dos Santos Dias,Maria Elisa De Sena Fernandes,Elisângela Novais Lopes,Madelaine Venzon,Juno Ferreira Da Silva Diniz

doi:10.4025/actasciagron.v37i1.17562

Abstract

Jatropha curcas has a high biofuel oil content, which could replace polluting fuels, and has great potential for large scale monoculture cultivation in the conventional system. We explored the occurrence, spatial distribution and the functional response of the main phytophagous species of this plant and their natural enemies to explore the potential for conservative biological control. We began sampling phytophagous species and predators when J. curcas plants were six months old. The most common species of phytophagous insects were nymphs and adults of Empoasca kraemeri, followed by Frankliniella schultzei and Myzus persicae. Among the predators, Ricoseius loxocheles, Iphiseioides zuluagai, Araneidae, larvae and adults of Psyllobora vigintimaculata and Anthicus sp. were the most frequently encountered. The most common parasitoids were the families Encyrtidae and Braconidae. The highest densities of E. kraemeri and F. schultzei on the edges of the J. curcas crop follow spatial patterns similar to those of their natural enemies I. zuluagai and Anthicus sp. These arthropods can be considered efficient predators of immature stages of E. kraemeri and F. schultzei on J. curcas.

Highlights

The physic nut tree (Jatropha curcas L.), a native species of Brazil, is considered to be a good crop option for many agricultural regions of the world (LI et al, 2010)
Spatial distribution and the functional response of the main phytophagous species and their natural enemies to help develop potential conservative biological control methods
The most common phytophagous species were nymphs and adults of E. kraemeri, followed by F. schultzei and Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), with densities of 6.29 ± 0.12, 14.71 ± 0.22, 5.57 ± 0.19 and 2.57 ± 0.09/ beating on tray, respectively

Summary

Introduction

The physic nut tree (Jatropha curcas L.), a native species of Brazil, is considered to be a good crop option for many agricultural regions of the world (LI et al, 2010). The functional response is based on two basic parameters: the prey handling time (Ht), which involves the gathering, death and ingestion of prey, and the attack rate (a), which represents the efficiency of prey searching This model evaluates the behavioral aspect of the predator, which can be influenced by its age, its type, the age of the prey, the prey host plant and the climatic conditions. The primary natural enemies of these phytophagous species, or the interactions between these organisms and their spatial dynamics; this information would be useful for developing agents for natural biological control (SHANKER; DHYANI, 2006). Spatial distribution and the functional response of the main phytophagous species and their natural enemies to help develop potential conservative biological control methods

Material and methods

Results and discussion

Conclusion