The common bean cultivar Perola is widely planted in Brazil, and it is heavily attacked by leaf-feeding chrysomelids of the genus Cerotoma. The objective of this study was to determine the Economic Injury Level (EIL) for C. tingomarianus, as a basis for the establishment of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program for this pest in Rio Branco (Acre, Brazil). The trial was conducted at the Experimental Station of Embrapa Acre using the cultivar Perola. The experiment was arranged as a split-plot in a randomized block design, with four replications. The main plots consisted of five plants at the developmental stages: V3 = first trifoliolate leaf, V4 = third trifoliolate leaf, R6 = initiation of flowering, R7 = pod formation and R8 = pod maturation, and the sub-plots were the four defoliation levels (0%, 33%, 66% and 100%). The response variables were: 1) grain production (g/plant); 2) average duration of each plant development phase (days) and leaf area production (cm²). The formula for determination of the EIL, corrected for the number of insects sampled, was applied based on the coefficients used for the regression curves of percent defoliation versus yield reduction. New regression curves were determined as a function of these EIL and of the cost of application of the control (C2) and the cost of 1 kg of beans (C1). The high r² values obtained for the regression curves indicate reliability in their use to determine the EIL of C. tingomarianus for the common bean cultivar Perola.
Leaf-feeding insect; economic entomology; bean; IPM
