Effect of three concentrations of Heterorhabditis sp. in the control of Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann under laboratory conditions

Abstract

The objective of the research was to evaluate the effect of three concentrations of the entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis sp. in the control of the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann) under laboratory conditions. For this purpose, three concentrations Heterorhabditis sp. (T₁: 3000, T₂: 5000 and T₃: 7000 JIs / ml). The completely randomized design (DCA) was used, employing 4 treatments with 4 repetitions, considering a control per repetition. Each experimental unit contained days after inoculation (ddi) the experimental units with the concentrations of the entomopathogenic nematode. The larvae and pupae parasitized by Heterorhabditis sp.; Likewise, the number of infective juvenile nematodes per larvae and per pupa will be counted. As a result, it was found that the T3 treatment (7000 JIs / ml) exerted better control of the fruit flies, with a mortality of 76.7 %; followed by T2 treatment (5000 JIs / ml), with a mortality of 65.0 %; the lowest control was obtained with the T1 treatment (3000 JIs / ml), with a mortality equal to 48.3 %. It was concluded that the higher the concentration of Heterorhabditis sp., the better the level of control of Ceratitis capitata, at the larval level.