Avaliação do parasitoide Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, como controle biológico de Ceratitis capitata, após liberação em cafeeiros no Norte de Minas Gerais

Abstract

In Brazil, the coffee crop has a great importance for the economy, generating income and providing capital formation in the countrys agricultural sector. However that culture presents many fitossanitary problems. Amongst the pests of that crop, there is the fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata, which may cause as much falling as rot of the fruits, besides damaging the quality of the beverage. An alternative way to solve that problem is the biological control, since it has low cost and also reduces the use of pesticides and residues in food. Amongst those organisms used for biological control of fruit flies, Diachasmimorpha longicaudata parasitoid is outstanding itself. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the distance traveled and the dispersion area of D. longicaudata exotic parasitoid, and also know its capacity of parasitism and survival after its release on coffee plantations in the North of Minas Gerais. The study was carried out in August and September, in an area of two hectares with coffee crop. They were marked 80 points in the directions N, S, E, W, NW, NE, SW and SE, with 10 points in each direction, where they were placed units parasitism, containing larvae of fruit flies which were left for 5 days in the plantation area being changed every 24 hours. They were released 400 parasitoids couples in the center of the area. The average distance and the average dispersion areaof the parasitoid were 3365.92 and 50.32 m2, respectively. Furthermore, D. longicaudata reached 2.8% of parasitism and maintained its efficiency up to 5 days after its release.