Abstract

The soybean is the main agricultural product produced in Brazil. Among the States, Rio Grande do Sul was the third largest producer in the 2017/2018 harvest. However, insects interfere on the productivity and provide an increase in the cost of production. The velvetbean caterpillar, Anticarsia gemmatalis (Hübner, 1818) (Lepidoptera: Eribidae) is considered one of the main leaf stripper caterpillars. The occurrence can completely fade, reflected in the grain yield. The chemical method is the main control adopted, however, due to the inadequate management of the crop, failures are observed frequently on the field. In this context, the insecticide management is considered an alternative, still little adopted, due to a lack of knowledge between the movement action and the susceptibility of the insect. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the performance of insecticides used in the soybean crop for the control of A. gemmatalis under laboratory conditions. In the residual and direct contact bioassays, eight treatments with five replicates were used in a completely randomized design, with 2nd and 5th instar caterpillars of A. gemmatalis. The results showed that by residual contact during 24 hours, all the treatments with exception of the control had effectiveness in both instar mortality. The treatments flubendiamide + zeta-cypermethrin and zeta-cypermethrin after four hours application reached 100% of effectiveness. Thus, aiming an integrated pest management program, where it advocated the association of different control tactics, the insecticide management with flubendiamide + zeta-cypermethrin were effective with 100% of control efficiency in both instars.

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