Associação de Beauveria bassiana e óleo essencial de Pogostemon cablin (Patchouli) para controle de Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Abstract

Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) is considered the main insect pest of the poultry, because it found, in the aviary, a good place to development it’s responsible for causing nutritional, commercial, health and structural damages. Its control is performed predominantly with chemical insecticides, but there is a need to reduce these products. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association of entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana and Pogostemon cablin (Blanc) Bent (patchouli) essential oil to control A. diaperinus. For this purpose, two bioassays, were conduod one with larvae and one with adults, with five treatments and five replicates with 12 insects each. The treatments were: 1) Sterilized sterile water; 2) Sterilized distilled water containing Tween® 80 (0.01%); 3) P. cablin essential oil; 4) B. bassiana fungus and 5) Association between B. bassiana and P. cablin. For each treatment 1 ml of solution was sprayed onto twelve insects. After the insects were transferred to the plates, they were put in a chamber (27 ± 2º C, 14 hours of photophase). Evaluations were performed every 24 hours to quantify dead insects. It was verified that the essential oil of P. cablin and the entomopathogenic fungus B. bassiana in the concentration of 2.0 x 109 conidia mL-1 when applied alone or in combination did not present an insecticidal effect on A. diaperinus, causing low mortality not differing from the control. It was observed that the association did not present an additive effect of the control agents.