The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the herbicide mixture nicosulfuron + atrazine, with or without the insecticide chlorpyrifos, onto soil entomofauna under maize crop. The treatments, applied 25 days after maize emergence, were represented by a weeded control without insecticide and herbicide, a weeded control with chlorpyrifos, and mixtures of nicosulfuron + atrazine, with or without chlorpyrifos. Arthropods populations, on the soil surface, as well as inside the soil under maize, were principally represented by mites (Arachnida: Acari), decomposer collembolans (Hexapoda:Parainsecta:Collembola) and predator ants (Hymenoptera:Formicidae). The nicosulfuron + atrazine mixture with chlorpyrifos and the isolated chlorpyrifos reduced the population dynamics of all insect groups on the soil surface compared to the weeded control. In the soil, mite and ant populations were reduced after application of the herbicide mixture with chlorpyrifos and of the isolated chlorpyrifos.

A eficiência de herbicidas aplicados em pós-emergência foi avaliada para o controle de plantas daninhas no consórcio de milho com Brachiaria brizantha e verificando seus efeitos sobre as espécies consorciadas. Os tratamentos foram representados pelos herbicidas atrazine (1.500 g ha-1), foramsulfuron + iodosulfuron methyl sodium + atrazine (15 + 1 + 1.500 e 30 + 2 + 1.500 g ha-1), foramsulfuron + iodosulfuron methyl sodium (45 + 3 g ha¹), nicosulfuron + atrazine (2 + 1.500; 4 + 1.500; 8 + 1.500; 12 + 1.500 g ha-1) mais a testemunha capinada (milho solteiro) e sem capina, arranjados em blocos ao acaso, com três repetições. Foram avaliados a porcentagem de controle de Digitaria horizontalis e de espécies do gênero Ipomoea, a toxicidade à cultura do milho, a cobertura vegetal do solo, o estado nutricional e a produtividade do milho e da forrageira. Verificou-se que para D. horizontalis os herbicidas foramsulfuron + iodosulfuron methyl sodium + atrazine, foramsulfuron + iodosulfuron methyl sodium + espalhante e nicosulfuron + atrazine nas duas maiores doses proporcionaram controle semelhante (acima de 70%) aos 28 dias após a aplicação (DAA). Para Ipomoea spp. houve diferença dos tratamentos apenas em relação à testemunha sem capina. Foramsulfuron + iodosulfuron methyl sodium + espalhante mostrou-se tóxico ao milho até 28 DAA, enquanto para B. brizantha somente o atrazine não causou dano. Leituras correspondentes ao teor de clorofila total, N, K e a produtividade do milho foram inferiores na testemunha sem capina e no tratamento com atrazine, sendo os demais não influenciados pelos herbicidas. Ao contrário, no período de convivência com o milho, depois da colheita deste e após período de pastejo, B. brizantha foi mais produtiva nos tratamentos em que foi aplicado atrazine e na testemunha sem capina, apresentando menor desenvolvimento nas maiores doses das sulfoniluréias.

A adoção de programas de manejo integrado de pragas permite reduzir a aplicação de inseticidas e os planos convencionais de amostragem representam o ponto inicial na geração desses programas. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi determinar plano de amostragem convencional para o biótipo B da mosca-branca Bemisia tabaci Genn. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) na cultura do pepino. Foram avaliadas as densidades de ninfas e de adultos em dez lavouras comerciais de pepino, Tocantins, MG, estudando nove sistemas amostrais formados pela combinação de três técnicas (batida de folha em bandeja de plástico branco, contagem direta dos insetos na face inferior da folha e coleta de folha em sacola de plástico) e três unidades amostrais (folha do terço apical, mediano ou basal do espaldeiramento). A contagem direta em folha do terço basal foi o sistema com maior precisão econômica na amostragem de ninfas, mas não possibilitou a geração de plano de amostragem praticável. As batidas, em bandeja, de folha dos terços apicais, medianos ou basais do espaldeiramento foram os sistemas economicamente mais precisos na amostragem de adultos. Desses, apenas a batida de folha do terço mediano em bandeja gerou plano de amostragem praticável, sendo que este plano é composto de 196 amostras/lavoura.

Crop management practices can affect the population of phytophagous pest species and beneficial arthropods with consequences for integrated pest management. In this study, we determined the effect of no-tillage and crop residue management on the arthropod community associated with the canopy of common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Abundance and species composition of herbivorous, detritivorous, predaceous and parasitoid arthropods were recorded during the growing seasons of 2003 and 2004 in Coimbra County, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Arthropod diversity and guild composition were similar among crop management systems, but their abundance was higher under no-tillage relative to conventional cultivation and where residues from the preceding crop were maintained in the field. Thirty-four arthropod species were recorded, and those most representative of the impact of the crop management practices were Hypogastrura springtails, Empoasca kraemeri and Circulifer leafhoppers, and Solenopsis ants. The infestation levels of major insect-pests, especially leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), was on average seven-fold lower under no-tillage with retention of crop residues relative to the conventional system with removal of residues, whereas the abundance of predatory ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and springtails (Collembola: Hypogastruridae) were, respectively, about seven- and 15-fold higher in that treatment. Importantly, a significant trophic interaction among crop residues, detritivores, predators and herbivores was observed. Plots managed with no-tillage and retention of crop residues had the highest bean yield, while those with conventional cultivation and removal of the crop residues yielded significantly less beans. This research shows that cropping systems that include zero tillage and crop residue retention can reduce infestation by foliar insect-pests and increase abundance of predators and detritivores, thus having direct consequences for insect pest management.

Transgenic soybean, resistant to glyphosate, is the most dominant transgenic crop grown commercially in the world. Research works on herbicide and insecticide mixtures and their effects on microorganisms are rarely reported. This work aimed to study the impact of glyphosate, endosulfan and their mixtures on the microbial soil activity in soybean crop. The experiment was carried out in a complete randomized block design with four treatments and five replications. The treatments were glyphosate 480 SL [540 g of active ingredient (a.i.) ha-1], endosulfan 350 EC (525 g a.i. ha-1), the glyphosate 480 SL [540 g of active ingredient (a.i.) ha-1] mixed with endosulfan 350 EC (525 g a.i. ha-1) and the control. Microbial activity was evaluated five days after treatment application. Glyphosate application was not an impacting factor for soil CO2 production. Endosulfan application (alone or mixed with glyphosate) suppressed CO2 production by microorganisms in the soil. Microbial biomass and microbial quotient were lower in the treatments using endosulfan alone and in those using endosulfan mixed with glyphosate than in the treatments using glyphosate alone and control.