SELECTIVITY OF PESTICIDES OVER PREDATORS OF COTTON PLANT PESTS

Abstract

The cotton plant hosts a complex of pests that can damage plant structures. Its supported development, in this agroecosystem, demands the implementation of an integrated pest management (IPM) system. The goal of this research was to study the selectivity of pesticides over predators of cotton plant pests. The experimental design was randomized blocks, with 9 treatments (84 days after the emergence) and 4 replicates. The sampling involved the beat cloth method, with 5 beats per plot, allowing to identify and count the living predators. Clotianidin 500 WP (200 g ha^-1), Carbosulfan 400 SC (400 mL ha^-1), Benfuracarb 400 EC (450 mL ha^-1), Cartap hydrochloride 500 SP (1,000 g ha^-1), Thiamethoxam 250 WG (200 g ha^-1), and Acetamiprid 200 SP (150 g ha^-1) were not selective for the complex of the predators identified, with mortality percentages ranging from moderately toxic to toxic. Etofenprox 300 EC (450 mL ha^-1) was the most toxic pesticide, when compared to the others treatments. The Flonicamid 500 WG (150 g ha^-1) treatment was selective, with average of predators similar to the control, until 8 days after spraying. Among the pesticides evaluated, only Flonicamid 500 WG was considered selective, according to the IOBC classification, because it showed the lowest mortality percentage for the complex of predators identified.

KEY-WORDS: Gossypium hirsutum L.; insecta; pesticides; cotton plant; predators.