Spatial distribution of nymphs and adults of Euschistus heros (Fabricius, 1794) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) in transgenic soybean cultivars of different maturing cycles

Abstract

The neotropical stink bug Euschistus heros is the predominant and most important insect pest affecting soybean cultivation. Knowledge of the spatial pattern of the pest in an area is critical to understanding its behavior. The objective of this work was to study the spatial distribution of E. heros in transgenic soybean cultivars of different maturing cycles. The experiments were conducted in the seasons 2013/14 and 2014/15 in FCAV/UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP. Three fields were selected, and each was marked an area of 8.000 m2 (0.8 ha), with each area divided into 80 portions of 100 m2 (10 m x 10 m). The transgenic soybean cultivars of different maturing cycles were: SYN 1365 RR (early), M 7908 RR (average), and BRS Valiosa RR (late). Samples were taken weekly using a beat sheet, registering the number of nymphs and adults of E. heros. To study the dispersion of E. heros, the following indices were used: variance/mean ratio, Morisita index, Green coefficient, and the exponent k of the negative binomial distribution. For studies of special distribution models of E. heros, adjustments of Poisson distribution and negative binomial distribution were tested. The spatial distribution of nymphs and adults was aggregated for all the cultivars studied, indicating that cultivars did not alter the distribution behavior of E. heros.