PLANTAS DE ARROZ FERTILIZADAS COM SILÍCIO REDUZ OS DANOS, ALTERA A BIOLOGIA E O COMPORTAMENTO ALIMENTAR DE Glyphepomis spinosa (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)

Abstract

Damage from insect pests is one of the factors that affects rice yields. Hemiptera are important crop pests throughout the world. The stink bug Glyphepomis spinosa Campos & Grazia (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a potential rice pest in Brazil. This study evaluates the interaction between silicon sources and three rice cultivars (BRS Esmeralda, Canela de Ferro and IRGA 417) with different levels of resistance and examines how increasing silicon levels affect plant damage, and the biology and feeding behavior of G. spinosa. The objective of this work was to study whether plants fertilized with silicon reduce damage, alter the biology and feeding behavior of G. spinosa. The experiment was completely randomized and set up with a 3x3 factorial scheme (silicon sources: calcium silicate, potassium silicate, a control and three rice cultivars). The rice cultivars that received applications of potassium silicate showed the fewest symptoms of “dead heart”. The BRS Esmeralda cultivar had the best response to the Si applications while potassium silicate produced the greatest increase of Si in the rice cultivars. Potassium silicate reduced damage caused by G. spinosa in the rice cultivars. Chlorophyll levels were highest in BRS Esmerelda after application of potassium silicate. BRS Esmeralda and IRGA 417 showed greater influence on insect biology when fertilized with Si. Si influenced the feeding behavior of G. spinosa by affecting the duration and number of feeding events. These results demonstrate the potential of using Si amendments for pentatomid management in rice.