TITLE:
Direct and Indirect Effect of Bt Cotton and No Bt Cotton on the Development and Reproduction of the Predator Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas, 1851) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)
AUTHORS:
Alexa G. Santana, Crébio J. ÁVila, Harley N. de Oliveira, Patrícia P. Bellon, Eunice C. Schlick-Souza
KEYWORDS:
Bt Plants, Natural Enemy, Survival
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.8 No.6,
May
27,
2017
ABSTRACT: This paper aimed to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of Bt cotton
and no Bt cotton on the development and reproduction of the predator Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas). The experiments related to the direct and indirect effects on
immature and adult stages of the predator were conducted, respectively, in
greenhouse and laboratory of the Embrapa Agropecuária Oeste in Dourados, Mato
Grosso do Sul State, Brazil. To evaluate the indirect effects of Bt cotton and
non-Bt, larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) were fed with these plants and later offered to the predator. To
evaluate the direct effect of the Bt cotton and non-Bt, the predator P. nigrispinus was kept in contact with these plants and fed with pupae of Tenebrio molitor (L.). The direct and indirect effects were evaluated by the biological
parameters as follows: period of nymphal development, nymphal survival, and duration of
pre-oviposition and oviposition periods and longevity of adults (females and
males) of P. nigrispinus. It was observed higher period of second instar of P. nigrispinus in Bt cotton, when compared to the development in its isoline non-Bt.
All other biological parameters evaluated, have no influence of the Bt cotton
plants considering the direct and indirect effects.