ACTIVITY OF TOBACCO AND GARLIC AQUEOUS EXTRACT ON Duponchelia fovealis ZELLER (LEPIDOPTERA: CRAMBIDAE)

Abstract

The Duponchelia fovealis caterpillar was recently found in commercial planting of strawberry and it is a problem creator to the culture. Because it is a recent pest, there is no evidence of products for its control. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of tobacco and garlic aqueous extracts looking to adopt them as alternative methods for the control of D. fovealis. Sixty insects /treatments were used to perform the bioassays for each larval phase and the respective aqueous extracts were applied at a concentration of 10% (m/v), totalizing 4 treatments/extract. The chemical product Pirate® (Chlorfenapyr), was used as a negative witness, and positive witness was pulverized with sterile distilled water (SDW), all treatments delivered with help from a Potter tower. The experiment was conducted in air-conditioned chamber (25 ± 1 ºC, RH 70 ± 10% and photophase of 12h) for seven days, with daily assessments to determine insecticide activity of each treatment. It was estimated the lethal concentration (CL50) of the aqueous extract from tobacco since it presented mortality of over 85% in susceptibility test, analyzing first and second development phases. It is concluded that the tobacco extract can be a viable alternative in phytossanitary management of D. fovealis.