Lepidópteros associados à cultura da soja : diversidade e parasitismo natural por insetos e fungos entomopatogênicos

Abstract

In soybean plantations, the equilibrium between insect pests and their natural enemies can be influenced by various factors such as soil management, use of phytosanitary products and soybean cultivar. This study evaluated the diversity of Lepidoptera associated with soybean crops in the Americas, and the specific abundance of these organisms and their natural enemies (parasitoids and entomopathogenic fungi) on conventional and transgenic RR soybean, treated with selective herbicides and glyphosate formulations. The experiment was carried out in Vacaria, Rio Grande do Sul state. Conventional BRS 133 and transgenic RR soy were each planted on three, one-hectare plots and treated with either selective herbicides or a glyphosate formulation. During weekly sampling, Lepidoptera were collected using the drop cloth method and maintained in the laboratory until adults and associated parasitoids and fungi could be obtained. Entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from soil samples. Based on literature data one list of 71 species of Lepidoptera that had been previously reported as feeding on soybean crop was prepared. In the present study, 1634 Lepidoptera larvae were identified in 22 taxa, including the following well-represented species: A. gemmatalis, P. includens e R. nu (83.05% of the larvae collected). The glyphosate treatments reduced the mean number of larvae when compared with the selective herbicide treatments. Hymenopterans, dipterans and strepsipterans were responsible for 34.52% of the total caterpillar parasitism. A large percentage of the larvae parasitized (93.05%) belong to the three most common species of Lepidoptera in our sampling, particularly to the Plusiinae, which were more heavily parasitized than A. gemmatalis. The entomopathogenic fungus N. rileyi was the only species isolated from the caterpillars and was responsible for 1.41% of the deaths amongst the three most common species. The numbers of colony-forming unities of Beauveria, Metarhizium and Paecilomyces, isolated from soil samples, did not differ among the plots.