AVALIAÇÃO DO NÍVEL DE DANO DE Chloridea virescens (FABRICIUS) (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE) EM GRÃO-DE-BICO.

Abstract

Chickpea is a crop of great nutritional value, rich in fiber and vegetable protein, and is indicated for supplementing food diets. The brazilian production of this legume is still in its infancy, however, the country has the capacity to include the crop in its production dynamics, and the cerrado is an ideal place for expansion of this crop. The climate conditions with dry periods and medium altitudes favor the cultivation in the region, and it can be cultivated either in rainfed or irrigated conditions. However, the chickpea can suffer from the attack of a complex of caterpillars that can harm from the vegetative to the reproductive phase. Among them, larvae of the subfamily Heliothinae such as Helicoverpa armigera and Chloridea virescens are the most harmful to the crop, as they affect its pods and grains. The objective of this research was to evaluate production parameters of chickpea (cultivar BRS Aleppo) through field evaluation of plants under infestation levels of 0, 2, 4, 6 and 12 caterpillars of C. virescens per plant , in two sowing seasons (summer and winter). It was observed that all infestation levels caused yield losses in the crop, and sowing times differed significantly, with higher yields when grown in the summer. Furthermore, the Economic-injury Level (EIL) are very close in both growing seasons (Summer - 1.03 larvae and Winter - 1.24 larvae). Therefore, it is possible to say that the Control Level will be below 1 larvae/m in the two growing seasons.