Brazilian forest producers have developed integrated management programs to increase the effectiveness of the control of leaf-cutting ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex. These measures reduced ...the costs and quantity of insecticides used in the plantations. Such integrated management programs are based on monitoring the ant nests, as well as the need and timing of the control methods. Chemical control employing baits is the most commonly used method, however, biological, mechanical and cultural control methods, besides plant resistance, can reduce the quantity of chemicals applied in the plantations.
Certification programs may include market access benefits for those business that have certified voluntarily, but there are also other consequences, such as the ban on the use of certain chemical ...pesticides imposed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) that can negatively affect integrated pest management. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) was created in response to FSC standards and includes national certification schemes such as the Responsible Wood (RW), previously known as the Australian Forestry Standard (AFS). The objective of this study was to evaluate the impacts of FSC and RW/PEFC certification on practices of integrated pest management from the perspective of Australian forest growers. Questionnaires were emailed to all organizations in Australia with forest plantations certified by FSC and/or RW/PEFC. The questionnaire addressed the importance of forest pest groups, pest control techniques, chemical pesticides (insecticides and herbicides) in derogation; the advantages and disadvantages of integrated pest management related to the certification; and satisfaction with certification in relation to pest management. The two insecticides in derogation were considered unnecessary by most of Australian growers. FSC promoted more changes in integrated pest management than RW. Half the FSC-certified companies stated that they had greater costs associated with integrated pest management to adequately meet certification. RW-certified growers were more satisfied than FSC-certified ones, but both groups stated that they would maintain certification in a scenario without further insecticide derogation. The main changes in pest management for FSC-certified companies were with preventive techniques that reduce the use and dependence on insecticides. The environmental and social side of FSC prevailed in these changes. Raising certification rigor can increase costs, making certification impracticable, forcing companies to adopt less restrictive schemes or simply not certify.
•FSC promoted more changes in IPM practices than RW in Australian certified companies.•FSC promoted good changes in forest pest management, but it makes this more expensive.•Most changes are regarding environmental and social aspects of pest management.•Bans on pesticides may disrupt integrated pest management in Australian forestry.•RW certified companies are more satisfied than FSC regarding the IPM point of view.
Leaf‐cutting ants of the genus Atta (Myrmicinae: Attini) are the main forest pests in Brazil, due to their economic damage, social complexity and geographical distribution. Chemical control with ...baits is the most viable and successful method to control these insects; and products with low environmental impact have been researched.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the mortality of Atta laevigata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) nests treated with Bioisca® bait, in different dosages, in eucalyptus plantations compared with those treated with sulfluramid and fipronil baits.
Seven treatments were used: Bioisca® (Palicourea marcgravii (Rubiaceae) + Tephrosia candida (Fabaceae)), with 5, 10, 15 and 20 g; Blitz® (fipronil), Atta Mex‐S® (sulfluramid) baits with 6 g/m2 of ant nest loose soil and the control, without ant baits.
It took 7 days for the first colony to have its activity stopped using the Blitz® treatment. It happened only at 30 days when treated with Bioisca® and Atta‐Mex‐S® .
The mortality of nests treated with Bioisca® was very low with only one controlled out of 20 that received this bait. Bioisca® does not control the nests of A. laevigata in eucalyptus plantations.
Only one nest of Atta laevigata out of 20 was controlled by Bioisca®.
All tested baits presented some degree of rejection.
Bioisca® had a low performance when compared to traditional synthetic baits.
Bioisca® baits failed to control Atta laevigata nests in eucalyptus plantations.
⢠KEY MESSAGE : The recommendations accompanying pesticide derogations from the FSC are not efficient for the management of leaf-cutting ants and termites in certified forest plantations in Brazil ...compared with chemical control using insecticides. FSC recommendations ignore the biological and ecological features of pests and forest plantations in Brazil when they set global rules for forest certification.
Agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral systems can increase carbon sequestration, offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduce the carbon footprint generated by animal production. The objective of ...this study was to estimate GHG emissions, the tree and grass aboveground biomass production and carbon storage in different agrosilvopastoral and silvopastoral systems in southeastern Brazil. The number of trees required to offset these emissions were also estimated. The GHG emissions were calculated based on pre-farm (e.g. agrochemical production, storage, and transportation), and on-farm activities (e.g. fertilization and machinery operation). Aboveground tree grass biomass and carbon storage in all systems was estimated with allometric equations. GHG emissions from the agroforestry systems ranged from 2.81 to 7.98 t CO
e ha
. Carbon storage in the aboveground trees and grass biomass were 54.6, 11.4, 25.7 and 5.9 t C ha
, and 3.3, 3.6, 3.8 and 3.3 t C ha
for systems 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. The number of trees necessary to offset the emissions ranged from 17 to 44 trees ha
, which was lower than the total planted in the systems. Agroforestry systems sequester CO
from the atmosphere and can help the GHG emission-reduction policy of the Brazilian government.
Forest plantations represent the fourth largest crop by planted area in Brazil. However, leaf-cutting ants can compromise their establishment and development. Atta and Acromyrmex (Hymenoptera: ...Formicidae) ant genera are the main pests in Eucalyptus and Pinus plantations, and their management is fundamental to maintain the forestry sector. Here, we describe biological aspects of leaf-cutting ants in Brazilian commercial forest plantations and the feasibility of different methods to control these insects. Physical and biological control methods are not effective in suppressing leaf-cutting ants nests of any size. Chemical control is the most used method and is based mainly on ant baits with high efficiency, easy application, and low operational cost. Ant baits comprise a carrier, usually citrus pulp, and an active ingredient. Dodecachlor was the first active ingredient used on a large scale in ant baits in Brazil. The use of this chemical was suspended because of its toxicity and persistence and replaced by sulfluramid, which is currently the most used active ingredient in ant baits. Although this compound controls leaf-cutting ants effectively, the raw material used in the manufacture of sulfluramid (perfluorooctane sulfonyl fluoride) was listed at the Stockholm Convention in 2009 as a persistent organic pollutant. Diverse alternative control methods have been tested without success and for this reason, sulfluramid is still used to control leaf-cutting ants. Regardless of the effectiveness of sulfluramid-based baits, researchers should put more effort into developing control methods safer to the environment.
ABSTRACT Insect damage to stored seeds is a challenge. Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius, 1792) (Coleoptera: Bostrichidae) is a major pest of seeds and grains in the world, but without record in seeds ...of the sudangrass (Sorghum drummondii (Poaceae)). The objective of this work was to report, for the first time, the occurrence and damage by R. dominica in S. drummondii seeds, sold in sealed packages in retail market. Four samples with 500 seeds each and without adult insects were separated from a package. The initial weight was obtained with a precision scale and the seeds were stored. The number of adult insects, the weight loss and the infestation rate of the seeds were evaluated 60 days later and the average between samples used to extrapolate the damage per package. An adult of R. dominica, on average, was obtained for each seven seeds and 54.06% of the seeds were damaged, with an average weight loss of 36.09%. This is the first report of R. dominica in sudangrass seeds and the damage inflicted shows that this insect may cause losses in the quantity and quality of seeds due to its rapid populational growth.
ABSTRACT The study of arthropod communities foraging on monocultures of native plants (e.g. Caryocar brasiliense) in biodiversity hotspots (e.g. Brazilian Cerrado) is important to understand the ...processes driving their performance. This study evaluated the possible interactions between galling herbivores, free-feeding arthropods, and of their natural enemies on C. brasiliense trees, in an orchard (monoculture). The possible competition observed were: i) between galling insects with defoliators and phytophagous mites, ii) between sucking insects, iii) between phytophagous mites and, iv) between Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae) with Histiostoma sp. (Acari: Histiostomidae) on C. brasiliense trees. Numbers of predators and prey, parasitoids and hosts, and predators and parasitoids were directly related among them. The competitive interactions between herbivorous predator and parasitoid may reduce Eurytoma sp. (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) populations, a potential pest of C. brasiliense. The predator Zelus armillatus (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) and the parasitoids Sycophila sp. (Hymenoptera: Eurytomidae) and Ablerus magistretti (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) are important to determine the numbers of Eurytoma sp. and of its galls. These natural enemies may be important to control this galling insect on C. brasiliense trees. The arthropod competition affected their guild associated to C. brasiliense trees.
Essential oils from botanical extracts used for insect pest control should be both effective and have low impact on natural enemies. The objective was to evaluate the effects of ten essential oils on ...the biological and reproductive parameters in two
Trichogramma galloi
Zucchi (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) generations. The emergence F
1
generation of
T. galloi
was reduced by more than 30% with
Allium sativum
,
Carapa guianensis
,
Citrus sinensis
, Neem and
Syzygium aromaticum
.
Zingiber officinale
reduced the
T. galloi
emergence of the F
1
and F
2
generations by between 30 and 99%. The longevity of the F
1
generation was reduced by more than 50% with
Z. officinale
at the pre-pupae and pupae stages. All oils reduced the parasitism rate of the F
1
generation in the egg-larva and pre-pupa stages.
Allium sativum
,
C. guianensis
and
C. sinensis
, Neem and
Origanum vulgare
reduced parasitism by between 30 and 79%.
Zingiber officinale
was slightly and moderately harmful to the F
1
and F
2
generations, respectively, for the
T. galloi
parasitism. The sex ratio of the two
T. galloi
generations was not affected by the essential oils. The low side effects of the oils on the F
2
generation, except for
Z. officinale
(the most harmful oil), suggest that
T. galloi
developed some post-transgenerational tolerance/resistance mechanisms to these oils and/or their components. The
A. sativum
,
C. guianensis
,
C. sinensis
, Neem,
O. vulgare
,
S. aromaticum
and
Z. officinale
oils were not selective for
T. galloi. Mentha piperita
,
Piper nigrum
and
Thymus vulgaris
essential oils can be included in integrated pest management programs for this parasitoid.
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