Efficacy of neem on Citrus Leafminer (CLM) and effect on its parasitoid Ageniaspis citricola was evaluated, using field, cage and olfactometer tests. Treatments were: aqueous extract of neem (50 gL-1), formulated oil of neem (10 mL L-1) and control. Field study was done in a Citrus aurantifolia orchard, three applications were carried out, which were evaluated every 48 hours until ten days after the treatment. Cage and olfactometer tests were performed in a greenhouse and repeated twice each time. In the cage, it were used 50 infested Citrus reticulata plants per experimental unit, while for the olfactometer test, as experimental arena, transparent plastic jars with 20 adults of CLM inside were used. Variables evaluated were: CLM infestation, dead, live and predated larvae, pupae, emerged adults and parasitized pupal chambers. The highest mortality of the CLM was caused by the aqueous extract of neem with 77.17%, which began 48 hours after application, suggesting inhibition of feeding. The aqueous extract of neem showed in average 88.80 % of repellency of adults of CLM and neem oil 85.64%. The high mortality of CLM and the repellent effect of neem, seem to influence negatively in parasitism which fluctuated between 9.45 % and 20.16 % in treated trees.  

The goal of this study was to evaluate the role of pollinators on the pollination, fertilization and fruit set process in three technological production levels and three reproduction substrates, determinants in cocoa yield. Two pollination techniques (natural and assisted) were compared and as a control, flowers were isolated with antiaphid. Twenty-seven observation units were formed, with three biological replicates. A known number of flowers were evaluated 6, 14, 21 and 36 days after the opening of each flower on marked branches. The number of active flowers, pollinated, fertilized and fruits formed was recorded. Pollinators present in experimental units were collected using yellow sticky cards, then taken to the lab and identified. Pollination occurred up to three days after opening, the flower that remained with the ovary swollen and attached to the branch/stem was considered pollinated. Fertilization was recorded fourteen days after flower opening, fruit set begins after fertilization, an event that was quantified twenty-one days after flower opening. The systems studied did not influence the percentage of pollination, fertilization and fruit formation. However, the substrates did influence pollination, fertilization and fruit set. The assisted pollination technique is significantly superior to natural pollination. The same species of Ceratopogonidae were reported at all three levels and substrates, with genera Forcipomyia and Dasyhelea being the most abundant.

Intercropped systems have agro-ecological and socioeconomic advantages over monocultures. Cotton is used in systems associated with food crops as an option to increase sustainability in family farming. The objective of this research was to evaluate the productivity of cotton in association with food crops, without using any nutritional assistance in the soil. This study was conducted on the rainy season of 2020 in Manabí-Ecuador. Six treatments were performed: four treatments related with the association of cotton with peanut, cowpea bean, field corn, and sweet corn; and two treatments with cotton monoculture (with and without soil fertilization). Agronomic, productive, and phytosanitary variables were evaluated in 60 m 2 experimental plots. A randomized complete block design with four replications was used. The results determined that cotton yield in the association with peanut was significantly equal to the monoculture with and without fertilization. In the intercropped food crops, there was a reduction in production in relation to the monocultures. However, it was the peanut in association with cotton with the lowest reduction, in addition to presenting the best Land Equivalence Ratio (1.71) and the best Marginal Rate of Return (120.56%), which suggests that this association is a viable alternative and easy to adopt by the small cotton producer.

En el Sistema de Siembra Directa (SSD), uno de los principales desafíos es el manejo de las plantas de cobertura, contexto donde el vinagre  (ácido acético) constituye una alternativa viable. Este  trabajo evalúa el efecto del vinagre triple en la desecación de plantas de cobertura (avena negra), así como el impacto  sobre el pH y la actividad  microbiana del  suelo. Se  evaluó  la desecación de  la avena negra según la escala de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Malezas-ALAM y el pH del suelo  a los 2,15 y 30 días  después de la aplicación de los tratamientos (DDA). Además, fueron  evaluados la tasa respiratoria, el carbono de la biomasa microbiana (CBM) y el cociente metabólico (qCO ) en muestras de suelo  colectadas a los 7, 28 y 56 DDA. Los resultados indican que  el vinagre  triple, en la dosis  de1 120 L ha-1, proporcionó una  desecación de 99.33  % de la avena negra y mayor producción de CO del suelo. Por otro lado, no hubo alteración del CBM, qCO y del pH del suelo, concluyéndose que el vinagre es una alternativa viable como herbicida natural, sin causar impactos en el pH y en la actividad microbiana del suelo.  Palabras clave: ácido acético, carbono de la biomasa microbiana, desecación, cociente metabólico.