Lagartas desfolhadoras de palma de óleo biomorfometria e biocontrole com fungos entomopatogênicos.

Abstract

The oil palm leaf stripper caterpillars, Automeris liberia and Brassolis sophorae are considered important pests in the crop, because they cause large defoliation, reducing production at various stages of crop development. The objective of this study was to describe the biomorphometry of the leaf strippers A. liberia and B. sophorae and to evaluate the biocontrol with the fungi Isaria sp., Trichoderma sp., Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana, where 239 isolates were obtained from soils from different areas of palm plantation of the company Agropalma S / A. After toxicological screnning on third instar larvae of the Tenebrio molitor beetle (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), nine isolates, five of M. anisopliae and four of B. bassiana, were selected and evaluated again on coleopteran larvae under different concentrations. The best performance of the isolates UFRA_Ma62 (M. anisopliae) and UFRA_Bb05 (B. bassiana) at concentration 108 conidia. mL-1 , which were tested on caterpillars in the laboratory and in the field. Biological results showed that the biological cycle was 85 and 137 days for A. liberia and B. sophorae, respectively. Sexual dimorphism regarding adult size and antenna difference between males and females. Statistical analyzes were performed using the Newman-Keuls test (P<0.05) using the R program. Field tests showed greater control efficiency when using the UFRA_Ma62 isolate and less cost than standard treatment with B. thuringiensis.