Optimizing Corn Crop Protection: The First Sampling Plan for Controlling <i>Dalbulus maidis</i> (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae)
Cleovan Barbosa Pinto,
Daiane das Graças do Carmo,
Juliana Lopes dos Santos,
Emílio de Souza Pimentel,
Aline da Silva Mota,
Ricardo Siqueira da Silva,
Marcelo Coutinho Picanço,
Renato Almeida Sarmento
Affiliations
Cleovan Barbosa Pinto
Graduate Program in Biotechnology and Biodiversity, Rede Bionorte, Federal University of Tocantins, Palmas 77650-000, TO, Brazil
Daiane das Graças do Carmo
Department of Plant Science, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, Brazil
Juliana Lopes dos Santos
Graduate Program in Biotechnology and Biodiversity, Rede Bionorte, Federal University of Tocantins, Palmas 77650-000, TO, Brazil
Emílio de Souza Pimentel
Department of Entomology, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, Brazil
Aline da Silva Mota
Graduate Program in Plant Production, National Institute of Science and Technology on Terrestrial Ecotoxicology, Federal University of Tocantins, Gurupi 77402-970, TO, Brazil
Ricardo Siqueira da Silva
Department of Agronomy, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina 39100-000, MG, Brazil
Marcelo Coutinho Picanço
Department of Plant Science, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa 36570-900, MG, Brazil
Renato Almeida Sarmento
Graduate Program in Biotechnology and Biodiversity, Rede Bionorte, Federal University of Tocantins, Palmas 77650-000, TO, Brazil
Corn (Zea mays) is the most widely planted crop in the world. Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) is currently a primary corn pest. The starting point for the development of pest control decision-making systems is the determination of a conventional sampling plan. Therefore, this study aimed to determine a practical conventional sampling plan for D. maidis in corn crops. Insect density was evaluated in 28 commercial fields. Subsequently, D. maidis densities were sampled from fields ranging from 1 to 100 ha. Insect density conformed to a negative binomial distribution in 89.29% of the fields. The insect densities determined using the sampling plan had a low error rate (up to 15%). Sampling time and costs ranged from 2.06 to 39.45 min/ha and 0.09 to 1.81 USD/ha for fields of 1–100 ha, respectively. These results provide the first precise and representative conventional sampling plan for scouting D. maidis adults grown in corn fields. Therefore, the conventional sampling plan for D. maidis determined in this study is practical and can be incorporated into integrated pest management programs for corn crops owing to its representativeness, precision, speed, and low cost.
