Fabiane Cristina Ceruti

Combination of diatomaceous earth and powder deltamethrin for insect control in stored corn

The use of diatomaceous earth (DE) is a very efficient insect control measure in stored grain IPM due to its low cost, easy application, reduction of active ingredient residues, lower environmental contamination and operator safety. The objective of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of different dosages of DE mixed with powder deltamethrin for controlling Sitophilus zeamais in stored corn. Samples of 100 g of clean and dry corn, in three replicates, were submitted to the following treatments: DE (Keepdry®), at the dosages of 500, 750 and 1000 g/t; powder deltamethrin (K-Obiol®) at 0,5 g a.i. /t and 1,0 g a.i. /t; and combinations of the lowest and highest DE dosages with the two dosages of deltamethrin. Thirty adults of S. zeamais were placed in each vial with the treated grains and kept in environment chambers at 25oC. Mortality was evaluated from the 1st to the 28th day. In the treatments mixing DE with deltamethrin or deltamethrin alone, the mortalyti was registered since the first day. In the treatments using only DE, the first dead insects were recorded after the 3rd day, especially in the highest dosages. After the 7th day, however, there was no statistical difference among all treatments, except for the lowest dosage of DE which reached a satisfactory control level only by the 14th day. It was concluded that treatments using DE combined with low dosages of powder deltamethrin represent an efficient control measure against S. zeamais in stored corn because insect mortality is faster than in treatments using DE alone and residues of active ingredients are much lower than using the insecticide in high dosages.

Utilização de bioensaios e marcadores moleculares para detecção da resistência de coleópteros de produtos armazenados a inseticidas

The qualitative and quantitative losses caused by stored product insects are of great concern, and since there is only a few active ingredients available for their control it is very important to have a frequent insect resistance monitoring. The objective of this research is to evaluate combination of bioassays and molecular marker techniques to detect insecticide resistance in stored product beetles. The Coleoptera species used for the tests were Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Curculionidae), Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Bostrichidae) and Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) (Silvanidae). For the bioassays it was used the impregnated filter paper technique, applying 1 mL of deltamethrin (K-Obiol 25 CETM) using four concentrations and five replicates, including a control with solvent only. Ten adults of each species were liberated separately on each dish. The mortality was evaluated after 24 h and resistance determined by probit analysis. The samples used for the PCR-RAPD were either in vivo or preserved in 70% ethanol, kept in -18°C freezer. After extraction, quantification and DNA quality analysis, the 25 µL samples had the DNA amplified and tested with six primers. The bioassays showed a crescent mortality proportional to insecticide concentration. The resistance factor for R. dominica, S. zeamais and S. oryzae were: 2,2; 3,2 and 9,2, respectively, compared to the susceptible populations of each species. The PCR-RAPD analysis revealed bands which indicate inter and intraspecific variability in the populations, but it was not possible to correlate them to resistance. The association of bioassay and PCR-RAPD represents a precise and valuable tool for resistance management of stored product insects, but more populations and primers should be tested.

Resposta de Sitophilus oryzae (L.), Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) e Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) a diferentes concentrações de terra de diatomácea em trigo armazenado a granel

Formulations of diatomaceous earth from different sources show variation in toxicity and in certain physical characteristics which can affect product efficacy. Also, different insect species show variation in their susceptibility to the product. Adults of Sitophilus oryzae (L.), Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) and Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.) were exposed to wheat kernels treated with a formulation of diatomaceous earth of Brazilian origin (Keepdry®), at concentrations of 250, 500, 750, 1000, and 1250g t-1 during different exposition periods. The treated kernels, in four replicates of 100g per treatment, were poured in plastic vials and infested with the insects. The vials were placed in environmental chamber at 25°C and 65% RH and the mortality was evaluated periodically. The number of dead insects per treatment was analyzed by the variance analysis and the differences between the means were determined by the Tukey test at 5%. The mortality of the three species was directly related to the diatomaceous earth concentration and to the exposition time, with the best results at concentrations above 500g t-1. The most tolerant species was S. oryzae that reached 100% mortality only at the 14th day of exposition, at 750g t-1. On the other hand, C. ferrugineus was the most susceptible species to diatomaceous earth; it reached 100% mortality at 500g t-1 at the 4th exposition day. It was concluded that the diatomaceous earth used in these experiments presented a satisfactory control level, and that it represents a very efficient grain protector for using in stored wheat insect management programs.