No abstract

1 Damage caused by the three main species of stink bugs occurring on soybean Nezara viridula (Linnaeus), Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood) and Euschistus heros (Fabricius) was compared in field cages and in greenhouses. Infestation levels of 4 stink bugs=m row of plants (field cages) and 2 stink bug=plant (greenhouse) for 15 days during the pod filling stage are reported. At harvest, the yield and seed quality were evaluated. 2 In the field, there was no difference in yield between infested and insect-free plants, but damage to seed quality varied with stink bug species. Plants damaged by P. guildinii had the lowest quality seeds. From 50 g seed samples harvested in the field, the mean weight of seeds classified as`good' was 37.3 g in plants infested with P. guildinii, compared to 41.8, 44.2 and 46.6 g in plants infested with E. heros, N. viridula and the control, respectively. 3 Plants infested with P. guildinii showed the highest number of seeds damaged by stink bugs, whereas those infested with E. heros showed the lowest damage. 4 Plants infested with P. guildinii had 18.5% damaged seeds, higher than the 3.6% and 3.4% damaged seeds from plants infested with the two other species and 0.1% in control plants. The percentage of non-viable seeds due to stink bug damage was 5.7% for P. guildinii but lower for the other two species.

Pest management of stink bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], corn (Zea mays L.) and cotton (Gossypium spp.) agroecosystems has become a major concern in several countries of the Americas. In this review, we report an overview on geographical distribution, injury, damage and methods used to control (plant resistance mechanisms, biological control) the most important stink bugs in the Americas, with an emphasis on Brazil, the implications of the trend towards decreased susceptibility of stink bug populations to insecticides and the current difficulties of the management of these insect pests. Currently, the Neotropical brown stink bug Euschistus heros (Fabricius) is less susceptible to organophosphate insecticides than in the past. A slight reduction in E. heros susceptibility to pyrethroids and, to a lesser extent, to neonicotinoids has also been observed. In addition, the green‐belly stink bug [Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas)] is more tolerant to the three classes of insecticides (neonicotinoids, organophosphates and pyrethroids) than E. heros. Metabolic detoxification is involved in organophosphate, neonicotinoid and pyrethroid differences in susceptibility. Restricted availability of insecticides with different modes of action could favour the selection of resistant phenotypes in stink bug populations.

Resumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar os efeitos das populações de percevejos Euschistus heros (F.) e Piezodorus guildinii (West.) nas lavouras de soja nos meses de novembro/dezembro, antes do aparecimento das vagens nas plantas. Foram realizados experimentos em casa de vegetação e no campo, comparando-se infestações no período vegetativo e reprodutivo da cultura. As plantas de soja, mesmo sob o ataque de pesadas infestações de percevejos (até 8 por planta), no período vegetativo e no florescimento, não sofreram reduções significativas no rendimento. A qualidade das sementes foi semelhante entre os tratamentos e entre as espécies. No estádio R4, o número médio de vagens chochas foi diretamente proporcional ao aumento do número de percevejos por planta. No campo, as plantas com até quatro percevejos por metro, no final do período vegetativofloração, tiveram rendimentos médios e qualidade de sementes semelhantes aos das plantas livres de insetos. No período R5-R6, para as duas espécies de percevejos, o número de grãos picados e inviabilizados cresceram, e os rendimentos médios decresceram com o aumento da população, tendo-se obtido, para a qualidade da soja, um dano duas vezes maior para a espécie P. guildinii em relação a E. heros. Infestações desses percevejos, na fase vegetativa-floração, não causam reduções no rendimento e na qualidade das sementes de soja.Termos para indexação: Glycine max, Euschistus heros, Piezodorus guildinii, Pentatomidae, manejo integrado. Susceptibility of soybean stink bugs prior to pod developmentAbstract -The objective of this work was to evaluate the damages caused by stink bug populations of Euschistus heros (F.) and Piezodorus guildinii (West.) to soybean crop on november/december, prior to pod set. Greenhouse and field experiments were carried out comparing infestations at vegetative-flowering and pod development stages. Soybean plants at vegetative and flowering growth stages, even under severe bugs infestation (8 per plant) did not show significant yield reduction. Seed quality, was similar among population levels and bug species. At R4 stage, the number of seedless pods increased proportionally to the number of bugs per plant. In field experiment, yield and seed quality of soybean plants infested with up to four E. heros or P. guildinii adults per meter, at the end of the vegetative-flowering stage, were similar to bug-free plants. The number of bugpunctured and inviable seeds increased and the average yield decreased with the increase of population levels of both bug species, at the pod filling stage (R5-R6) infestation. In relation to the soybean quality, the damage caused by P. guildinii was twice bigger than that caused by the brown stink bug. Infestations of these stink bugs on the vegetative-flowering stage do not cause reduction on yield and quality of soybean seeds.

Field studies of inoculative releases of Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) in early‐maturing soybean, used as a trap crop, were conducted during four consecutive seasons to evaluate the parasitoid's potential as an IPM tactic for use against stink bug (Pentatomidae) species. Fifteen thousand adults of the parasitoid were released per hectare in the trap crop when the first stink bugs were detected in the experimental area. The stink bug population density was reduced by an average of 54% in the trap crop and by 58% in the main crop. The inoculative releases produced a reduction and delay in the stink bug population peak, mainly represented by Nezara viridula (L.), Piezodorus guildinii (Westwood) and Euschistus heros (Fabr.), which were held below economic threshold levels during the most critical stages of stink bug attack on soybean (pod and seed fill, R3–R6). As a result, seed quality was better in areas where T. basalis was released, demonstrating the efficacy of inoculative releases of this egg‐parasitoid which could be an important component of the soybean IPM program in Brazil.