Sexual pheromone for monitoring Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in cotton crops in Mato Grosso, Brazil
Cotton crop, despite its great relevance in Brazil, especially in Mato Grosso, lacks more effective technologies for monitoring and controlling Spodoptera frugiperda, one of the most widespread pests currently affecting the crop. In this context, pheromones represent a promising tool for the management and monitoring of this pest. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the comparative efficiency of different synthetic sex pheromone formulations for monitoring S. frugiperda in cotton crops. The research was conducted in a cotton field located in Tangará da Serra – MT, during a ten-week period. Delta-type sticky traps were used in a randomised experimental design with five treatments and five replications: 3 experimental formulations, virgin females (positive control) and hexane (negative control). The variables analysed included the total number of adults captured per trap and the proportion of males and females. Data were subjected to analysis of variance, and treatment means were compared using a significance test at 5% probability. During the ten weeks of evaluation, 3,660 moths of S. frugiperda were captured, of which 3,548 were males (96.94%) and 112 were females (3.06%). Capture by the formulations did not show a significant difference; however, they differed from the positive control (virgin females). The results indicate that the synthetic formulations tested present similar efficiency for monitoring S. frugiperda in cotton crops. However, more detailed studies with strains from Mato Grosso are necessary for the isolation and identification of pheromonal compounds from local populations, aiming to improve the effectiveness of monitoring strategies for this pest.
Keywords: Fall Armyworm, Field trapping, Integrated Pest Management, Regionalization of Pheromones.
