Article Citation:
Fabio Medeiros da Costa, Aldeni Barbosa da Silva, Eduardo Barbosa Beserra Jose Pires Dantas
Oviposition preference and culture control of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in corn (Zea mays)
Journal of Research in Biology (2015)5(4):001-008
Journal of Research in Biology
Oviposition preference and culture control of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in corn (Zea mays)
Keywords:
Fall armyworm, behavior, bioecology, host.
ABSTRACT:
We evaluated the oviposition preference and damage capacity of Spodoptera frugiperda on the different phenological stages of corn. Tests were performed at the Assis Chateaubriand Agricultural School (07º10'15" S, 35º51'13" W, altitude 634 meters), municipality of Lagoa Seca, Paraíba State, Brazil, in two areas of 500 m2, with CMS maize hybrid strain and maize intercropped with bean with the spacing of 0.80 x 0.40 m. Eggs and caterpillars were collected weekly on 50 plants randomly sampled in five spots. Height and number of leaves per plant, and damage from caterpillars of S. frugiperda were recorded using the scale, the rangers were., 0) no damage, 1) leaf scraped, 2) leaf pierced, 3) leaf torn, 4) damage in cartridge, 5) cartridge destroyed. The average number of clutches did not differ significantly among the three phenological stages of the culture, but average clutch size (number of eggs) was significantly smaller for the stage of 4-6 leaves. However, there was a significant interaction with respect to the number of clutches between position in the plant (lower, middle, and upper) and phenological stage, and between leaf surface and phenological stages. There were significant differences among tillage systems for corn in monoculture and corn intercropped with bean.
001-004 | JRB | 2015 | Vol 5 | No 4
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Authors:
Fabio Medeiros da Costa1,
Aldeni Barbosa da Silva2, Eduardo Barbosa Beserra3 and Jose Pires Dantas4
Institution:
1. Oikos Consultoria e Projetos. Departamento de Meio Ambiente. Estrada de Santo Antônio, 3903 Apto 103-D. Triângulo. Porto Velho – RO 76805-696, Brasil.
2. Departamento de Fitotecnia/CCA/UFPB - Campus II, Areia - PB. Rua Sisínia Vitório Serafim, Nº 18, Bairro Bela Vista, Remígio - PB, 58398-000, Brasil.
3. Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, CCBS, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, UEPB. Rua Juvêncio Arruda s/n, Bodocongó, Campina Grande - PB, 58109-753, Brasil.
4. Departamento de Química, Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia, CCT, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, UEPB. Rua Juvêncio Arruda s/n, Bodocongó, Campina Grande - PB, 58109-753, Brasil.
Corresponding author:
Fabio Medeiros da Costa
Email Id:
Web Address:
http:jresearchbiology.com/documents/RA0522.pdf
Dates:
Received: 26 Apr 2015 Accepted: 05 May 2015 Published: 09 June 2015
Journal of Research in Biology
An International Scientific Research Journal
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
ISSN No: Print: 2231 –6280; Online: 2231- 6299
-INTRODUCTION
Corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the main crops in Brazil (Bull and Cantarella 1993). In recent years, this culture has been increasing substantially due to developments in tillage system, availability of more productive genotypes, adapted to the various regions, mechanization, and increase of the production area resulting from off-season sowing and the expansion of the crop to new regions in the Center-West and Northeast. In the last 15 years, production almost doubled, from 24 to 42 million tons, with an increase in productivity from about 1,800 kg/ha to over 3,000 kg/ha (Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento, 2009). Nevertheless, the average productivity in Brazil (3,500 kg/ha) is still considered low when compared to that of other producing countries, such as China (5,000 kg/ha), Argentina (7,000 kg/ha), and the United States (9,000 kg/ha) (Pereira and others 2005; Costa and Cota 2009).
Productivity in Brazil is affected by the low technological level of producers, (mainly in the Northeast, where production techniques are rudimentary, Bull and Cantarella, 1993), the lack of proper plant health care, and the occurrence of pest insects (Cruz et al., 1999).
The fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith, 1797), is considered as the pest that causes the largest damage to corn culture in Brazil (Vendramim and Fancelli 1988). The economic losses caused by this corn pest are estimated in over 400 million dollars, corresponding to 34% of the production (Cruz et al., 1999).
S. frugiperda attacks in all the plant’s phenological stages, destroying its leaves and cartridge, reaching even the spike (Cruz and Turpin 1982). The younger larvae eat the tissue of one of the sides of the leaf, leaving the opposite epidermis intact. After the second or third instar, the larvae start piercing the leaves, and then proceed to feed on the corn cartridge, producing characteristic rows of perforations on the leaves (Capinera, 1999). Larval density in the cartridge is low, due to the cannibalistic behavior of this insect. In laboratory conditions, its life cycle is completed in 30 days, and the number of eggs (clutch size) varies from 100 to 200 per clutch/female, a single female being able to lay a total of 1,500 to 2,000 eggs. The caterpillar can grow longer than 2.5 cm, and the pupa phase occurs underground (Valicente and Tuelher, 2009). In the phase with 8-10 leaves, damages are the greatest, and grain yield loss can reach 18.7% (Cruz and Turpin 1982).
Among the methods used to control S. frugiperda, the use of chemicals is being increasingly reduced, with adverse consequences for the beneficial fauna, pest ressurgence, and environmental contamination (Gassen, 1996), the development of resistant populations of the insect, biological unbalance, and harmful effects to man and other animals, let alone its high cost (Kogan, 1998); the search for alternatives that minimize the adverse effects of agrochemicals on the environment is thus a necessity (Silva et al., 2008; Silva et al., 2009; Souza et al., 2011).
Control measure decisions should be based on several factors related to the pest, culture, and environment (Pedigo 1999; Oliveira et al., 2007). For this reason, emphasis has been given to the cultural control method, which is an alternative to agroecological pest management. Corn intercropped with bean, for example, is commonly used to reduce damages caused by the pest, acting as a spatiotemporal physical barrier and improves the conditions for the development of natural enemies. For corn intercropped with bean, pest reduction is quite significant, reaching 37.2% for S. frugiperda (Milanez, 1987).
Information on the insect-plant interaction with respect to the damages caused by this pest, and the oviposition preferences in distinct phenological stages of the corn culture, are essential to devise control strategies within integrated pest management programs. The objective of this study was
to evaluate oviposition preference and the damage capacity of S. frugiperda on the distinct phenological stages of the cor
MATERIALS AND METHODS
The experiment was done at the Assis Chateaubriand Agricultural School (07º10'15" South, 35º51'13" West, altitude 634 meters), municipality of Lagoa Seca, Paraíba State, Brazil.
In two areas of 500 m2, corn and corn intercropped with bean was sown with a spacing of 0.80 x 0.40 m. Hybrid corn seeds of CMS lineage were used. During the experimental period, the areas received cultural treatments such as plowing, organic manure provision, and manual weed removal, except the application of insecticides after germination. Nearby areas were cultivated with tomato, corn, and bean.
Clutches and caterpillars were collected weekly between July and September on 50 randomly distributed plants, in five sampling spots separated by a distance of approximately 20 meters. At each spot, 10 plants were evaluated, four of them on a central row and three others on each of two lateral rows, alternating the rows closest to the central row, separated by approximately three meters. Height and number of leaves per plant, and clutch location by plant region and placement on the abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces, were recorded. With these data in hand, it was possible to group clutches according to plant region (lower, middle, and upper) and study their distribution considering the corn’s distinct phenological stages: 4-6, 8-10, and 12-14 leaves (Cruz and Turpin 1982). Damages caused by S. frugiperda’s
caterpillars were recorded in the scale: 0) no damage, 1) leaf scraped, 2) leaf pierced, 3) leaf torn, 4) damage in cartridge, 5) cartridge destroyed (Cruz and Turpin 1982). Clutches were placed into plastic vials and taken to the Entomology Laboratory of the Biological Control Unit, Paraíba State University, where they were kept in glass vials (8.5 x 2.5 cm). Clutch size (number of eggs) was quantified based on the number of ecloded caterpillars.
Data on the distribution and number of clutches and eggs in the distinct phenological stages and regions in the corn plant were analyzed following the factorial protocol of 2 x 2 with three levels each, factor A being the culture’s phenological stage (4-6, 8-10, 12-14 leaves), and factor B the plant region (lower, middle, and upper) or leaf surface (abaxial or adaxial). The average number of caterpillars and the average damage caused to the corn plant in monoculture and intercropped with bean were compared considering the entirely casualized experimental design. Treatment averages were subjected to analysis of variance and compared with the Tukey test (P < 0.05), using the STAT/UNESP program (Unesp, 1991), when significant differences were detected.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
We collected clutches of S. frugiperda in all phenological stages of the corn, 100% located over leaves. Statistical differences of the average number of clutches among the three phenological stages of the crop were not detected; however, average clutch size was significantly smaller for stage with 4-6 leaves in relation to stages with 8-10 and 12-14 leaves (Table 1).
The smaller clutch size in the stage with 4-6 leaves is related to the smaller number of eggs laid in the initial stages of crop development, as observed by Meneses (1991) Beserra et al., (2002) for rice plants; the authors related the fact to environmental interferences, such as exposure to sun rays and low humidity. The rise in clutch size for stages with 8-10 and 12-14 leaves coincides with the period of greater attack on corn, where, according to Cruz and Turpin (1982), the highest production losses occur, reaching on average 18.7% and 8.6%, respectively.
There was a significant interaction between plant region (lower, middle, and upper) and phenological stage of the plant (F=7.21; P<0.05), and between leaf surface and phenological stage (F=10.96; P<0.05) in relation to number of clutches (Table 2). When the plant was at the stage with 4-6 leaves, the largest number of clutches was observed in the lower plant region, and there was no preference for oviposition in the mid region. When the corn was at the stage with 8-10 leaves, clutches were uniformly distributed, and there were no differences in plant region; however, the mid region of the plant was preferred for oviposition at the stage with 12-14 leaves.
More clutches were recorded on the abaxial surface of the leaf at the phenological stage with 4-6 leaves, shifting to the adaxial surface at the subsequent stages with 8-10 and 12-14 leaves (Table 2).
The alteration in oviposition site suggests that S. frugiperda females shift the distribution of their layings depending on the development stage of the plant. At the culture’s initial stages, with 4-6 leaves, the female probably seeks shelter for its eggs, protecting them from disseccation and natural enemies, preferring the plant’s lower region and the leaf’s abaxial surface, where humidity is higher and clutches can be more concealed. At the stages with 8-10 and 12-14 leaves, leaf mass is greater, with a great increase in humidity and protection capability, and females select the mid and upper regions of the plant and the adaxial surface of the leaf, located closer to the plant’s cartridge, a feeding and shelter site for caterpillars. Pitre and others (1983) verified that, in grasses like sorghum and corn, the plant’s lower region and the leaf’s abaxial surface are preferred for oviposition as long as they provide shelter and protection. This strategy of oviposition of the pest, in corn, is focused on protection from natural enemies or an adequate place for caterpillar foraging as long as females lay their eggs in areas close to larvae feeding grounds (Beserra et al., 2002). Labatte (1993) also noticed that caterpillars prefer to forage on the lower region of the corn plant at the stage with 4-6 leaves, foraging occurring preferentially between the cartridge and young leaves at the stages with more than 10 leaves. After the corn’s fertilization, at the stages with 12-14 leaves, caterpillars migrate to the plant’s mid region, close to where spikes develop, and stay on the leaves and spikes. This distribution of clutches and larvae was also reported for Ostrinia nubilalis (Hüb) by Shelton and others (1986) and Labatte (1991), and for S. frugiperda by Beserra and others (2002), who concluded that the corn’s phenological stage is one of the main factors affecting oviposition preference and damages from the pest.
There were significant differences between tillage systems, with averages of 49.19 and 21.75 caterpillars, and average damage caused by S. frugiperda of 3.37 and 2.65, for corn in monoculture and corn intercropped with bean, respectively (Tables 3 and 4), intercropping reducing the pest’s population and damages caused. A higher number of caterpillars at the stage with 12-14 leaves stage was recorded for corn in monoculture; however, this greater infestation did not reflect in a greater average damage in relation to the stage with 4-6 and 8-10 leaves, with average damage varying from 3.01 to 3.60. On corn intercropped with bean, infestation and average damage caused by S. frugiperda remained constant, no differences having been noticed among stages with respect to those
variables (Tables 3 and 4).
The reduction in crop damage in the intercropping system is corroborated by data obtained by Altieri and others (1977) and Oliveira and others (1995), who recorded a reduction of the damage caused by S. frugiperda of up to 14.0% when corn was sown intercropped with bean and “caupi-bean”, respectively. Therefore, it was noticed that in diversified systems with more than one crop there is a reduction in infestation and damage caused by the pest. This is attributed to a greater availability of food resources, which favors the presence of natural enemies and hampers the location of the host plant by the herbivore, reducing infestation, and consequently damage (Altieri, 2002)
The absence of significant differences in average damage, even though a greater caterpillar infestation at the stage with 12-14 leaves occurred, may be related to nutritional adequacy of leaves to caterpillars at those developmental stages, since at the final stages with 12-14 leaves, the leaves become more resistant, hampering foraging and consequently reducing plant damage.
As to phenological stages in the intercropping system, a lower infestation is inferred, and consequently less damage caused to the host plant, independent on the culture’s phenological stage.
In this study, it could be observed that S. frugiperda oviposits in all phenological stages of the corn, shifting laying site according to changes in the plant’s phenological stages. The greatest infestation and pest damage occur in corn grown in monoculture, polyculture thus being the recommended system, since it reduces the pest’s population, and consequently the damages that is causes
CONCLUSIONS
Based on these data we can conclude: i) Spodoptera frugiperda made oviposition in all phenological stages of corn; ii) The insect changed its oviposition behavior according to the changes of phenological stages of the plant; iii) The largest infestation and larger pest damage occurred in monoculture (only corn); iv) The polyculture system is recommended as well as reduce pest damage favors natural enemies
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank CNPq for sponsoring the research and Doctor José Pires Dantas for his relevant contributions for this study.
REFEREMCES
Altieri MA. Schoonhoven VA and Doll J. 1977. The ecological role of weeds in insect pest management systems: a review by bean (Phaseolus vulgaris). Cropping Systems. 23 (2): 195-205.
Altieri MA. 2002. Agroecologia: as bases científicas para uma agricultura sustentável. Guaíba-RS, 1ª edição. Livraria e Editora Agropecuária Ltda, 592p.
Beserra EB. Dias CT and Parra JRP. 2002. Distribution and natural parasitism of Spodoptera frugiperda (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE) eggs at different phenological stages of corn. Florida Entomologist. 85 (4): 588-593.
Bull LT and Cantarella H. 1993. Cultura do milho: fatores que afetam a produtividade. Piracicaba: Associação Brasileira para Pesquisa da Potassa e do Fosfato, 301p.
Companhia Nacional de Abastecimento. 2009. Acompanhamento de safra brasileira: grãos: safra 2009/2010: quarto levantamento: janeiro/2010. Brasília, 2009. 39 p. Disponível em: http://www.conab.gov.br/conabweb/download/safra/04_ levantamento_ jan2010.pdf. Acesso em: 10 dez. 2009.
Capinera JL. 1999.common name: fall armyworm – scientific name: Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)
(Insecta: Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Featured Creatures, UFIFAS – University of Flórida. Avilable in: http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/field/fall_armyworm.htm.
Cruz I and Turpin FT. 1982. Efeito da Spodoptera frugiperda em diferentes estágios fenológicos do milho. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira. 17 (3): 335-359.
Cruz I. Figueiredo MLC and Matoso MJ. 1999. Controle biológico de Spodoptera frugiperda utilizando o parasitóide de ovos Trichogramma. Sete Lagoas: Embrapa-CNPMS, 40 p. (Circular Técnica, 30).
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Kogan M. 1998. Integrate pest management historical, perspectives and contemporary developments. Annual Review Entomology, 43: 243-270.
Labatte JM. 1993. Within-plant distribution of fall armyworm (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE) larvae on corn during whorl-stage infestation. Florida Entomologist. 76 (3): 437-446.
Milanez JM. 1987. Estudo de entomofauna em consórcio feijão milho em Santa Catarina. 1. ed. Florianópolis: Empresa Catarinense de Pesquisa Agropecuária. Circular Técnica n. 110, 16p.
Oliveira JV. Barros R. Silva RLX. Pereira JLL and Vasconcelos HL. 1995. Influência do consórcio milho e caupi na infestação de Empoasca kraemeri (ROOS & MOORE) e nos danos causados por Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. SMITH). Anais da Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil. 24 (1): 69-76.
Oliveira CM. Oliveira E. Canuto M and Cruz I. 2007. Controle químico da cigarrinha-do-milho e incidência dos enfezamentos causados por molicutes. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, 42 (3): p. 297-303.
Pedigo LP. 1999. Conventional insecticides. In: Pedigo LP. (Ed.). Entomology and pest management. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1999. p. 373-431.
Pereira OAP. Carvalho RV and Camargo LEA. 2005. Doenças do milho. In: Kimati H, Amorim L, Rezende JAM, Bergamin Filho A and Camargo LEA. (Ed.). Manual de fitopatologia. São Paulo: Ceres, 2: 477- 488.
Pitre HN. Mulrooney JE and Hogg DB. 1983. Fall armyworm (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE) oviposition: crop preferences and egg distribution on plants. Journal Economic Entomology, 76 (3): 463-466.
Shelton AM. Nyrop JP. Seaman ARE and Foster RE. 1986. Distribution of European corn borer (LEPIDOPTERA: PYRALIDAE) egg masses larvae on sweet corn in New York. Enviromental Entomology, 15 (1): 501-506.
Silva AB. Beserra EB and Dantas JP. 2008. Utilização de Metarhizium anisopliae e extratos vegetais para o controle de Spodoptera frugiperda e Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) em milho. Engenharia Ambiental – Espírito Santo do Pinhal, 5 (1): 77-85.
Silva AB. Batista JL and Brito CH. 2009. Aspectos biológicos de Euborellia annulipes sobre ovos de Spodoptera frugiperda. Engenharia Ambiental – Espírito Santo do Pinhal, 6 (3): 482-495.
Souza CKL. Silva AB. Beserra EB and Dantas JP. 2011. Controle de Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith, 1797) e Helicoverpa zea (Boddie, 1850) em plantas de milho tratadas com extratos vegetais em dois intervalos de pulverização. Bol. San. Veg. Plagas, 37: 45-56.
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Valicente FH and Tuelher ES. 2009. Controle Biológico da Lagarta do Cartucho, Spodoptera frugiperda, com Baculovírus. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária, Circular Técnica, 114: 1-14.
Vendramim JD and Fancelli M. 1988. Efeito de genótipos de milho na biologia de Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Anais da Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil, 17: 141-50.
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Table 1. Average ( χ ) number of clutches and clutch size of Spodoptera frugiperda per phenological stage of the plant.
Phenological Stage |
(χ) number of clutches 1,2 |
(χ) clutch size 1,3 |
4-6 |
3.00 ± 0.94 A |
285.00 ± 43.00 B |
8-10 |
5.07 ± 1.57 A |
1,534.25 ± 135.91 A |
12-14 |
5.13 ± 0.93 A |
1,570.28 ± 43.00 A |
1 Averages followed by the same letter in small caps in rows, and large caps in columns, do not differ according to the Tukey test (P<0.05).
2 Original averages. For statistical analysis, data were transformed into SQRT (X+1).
3 Original averages. For statistical analysis, data were transformed into log (X+1).
Phenological stage |
n |
(χ) Clutches / plant region 1, 2 |
(χ) Clutches / leaf surface 1,2 |
|||
Lower |
Middle |
Upper |
Abaxial |
Adaxial |
||
4-6 |
8 |
2.77±0.97aA |
0.00bB |
0.23±0.12bA |
2.87±0.94aA |
0.00bB |
8-10 |
8 |
1.50±0.59aA |
1.75±0.83aA |
1.62±0.49aA |
2.62±0.86aA |
3.50±1.05aA |
12-14 |
8 |
1.00±0.38bA |
3.42±0.73aA |
0.71±0.24bA |
1.13±0.44bA |
3.96±0.84aA |
Table 2. Average (χ) number of clutches of Spodoptera frugiperda per phenological stage of the plant, region of the plant, and leaf surface.
1 Averages followed by the same letter in small caps in rows, and large caps in columns, do not differ according to the Tukey test (P<0.05).
2 Original averages. For statistical analysis, data were transformed into .
Costa et al., 2015
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Phenological stage |
(χ) of caterpillars1 |
|
Corn |
Corn x Bean |
|
4-6 |
24.33 ± 15.05 aB |
30.00 ± 11.16 aA |
8-10 |
34.00 ± 16.33 aB |
31.75 ± 9.63 aA |
12-14 |
89.25 ± 13.53 aA |
30.50 ± 1.50 bA |
Average |
49.19 ± 11.77 A |
21.75 ± 20.60 B |
Table 3. Average (χ) number of caterpillars of Spodoptera frugiperda per phenological stage and tillage system.
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Phenological stage |
(χ) of damage grade caused by caterpillars1 |
|
Corn |
Corn x Bean |
|
4-6 |
3.01 ± 0.014 aA |
2.58 ± 0.11 aA |
8-10 |
3.51 ± 0.18 aA |
2.78 ± 0.12 bA |
12-14 |
3.60 ± 0.14 aA |
2.60 ± 0.1 bA |
Average |
3.37 ± 0.1 a |
2.65 ± 0.06 b |
Table 4. Average (χ) damage caused by caterpillars of Spodoptera frugiperda by tillage system.
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Costa et al., 2015
004 Journal of Research in Biology (2015) 5(4): 001-008
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