Avaliação da eficácia de diferentes insecticidas no controlo de pragas da Cevada (Hordeum vulgare L.) no campo experimental da FAEF

Abstract

Simiar to many crops, barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is subject to attack by pests such as aphids, caterpillars, and leaf miners, which can result in losses of approximately 26-30% of income. In addition, there is a scarcity of published studies on the use of insecticides in barley in Mozambique. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of different insecticides on barley yield in the FAEF experimental field. The study was conducted between May and September 2023 using the "Traveler" variety, in a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), with 4 replications and 5 treatments, namely: Control, Beta-cyfluthrin, Lambda-cyhalothrin, Deltamethrin, and Imidacloprid + Beta-cyfluthrin, applied according to the recommended dose per hectare. Observations regarding population density, infestation level, and average attack level were made weekly throughout the duration of the test using the X sampling pattern with a total of 10 plants observed in each repetition. Spraying was done based on the results obtained during monitoring and the economic threshold (E.T.) of each pest. For data analysis, the IBM SPSS and STATA 14 statistical packages were used, where Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was performed followed by Tukey's mean comparison test at a 5% significance level. The results show that throughout the trial, the population density, infestation level, and average attack level of the fall armyworm and aphids were low, and the treatments did not differ statistically from each other (p>0.05), that is, no treatment proved to be more effective, resulting in a significant reduction in population density, infestation level, and average attack level of the fall armyworm and aphids. The Lambda-cyhalothrin treatment tended to present the highest barley yield, with 1.74 tons/ha, and the Control treatment had the lowest percentage of yield loss in relation to the maximum potential of the trial, with 7.47%. The highest financial return was observed when Lambda-cyhalothrin was applied, being 13,591.57 Mts, and the Control, with 8,291.57 Mts. The non-application of insecticides appeared effective in barley production under the conditions of the FAEF experimental field, due to a lack of historical cultivation of this crop in the area used for this purpose.(TRADUÇAO NOSSA)