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Bioinsecticide-Predator Interactions: Azadirachtin Behavioral and Reproductive Impairment of the Coconut Mite Predator Neoseiulus baraki

Synthetic pesticide use has been the dominant form of pest control since the 1940s. However, biopesticides are emerging as sustainable pest control alternatives, with prevailing use in organic agricultural production systems. Foremost among botanical biopesticides is the limonoid azadirachtin, whose...

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Autores principales: Lima, Debora B., Melo, José Wagner S., Guedes, Nelsa Maria P., Gontijo, Lessando M., Guedes, Raul Narciso C., Gondim, Manoel Guedes C.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4334557/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25679393
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118343
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author Lima, Debora B.
Melo, José Wagner S.
Guedes, Nelsa Maria P.
Gontijo, Lessando M.
Guedes, Raul Narciso C.
Gondim, Manoel Guedes C.
author_facet Lima, Debora B.
Melo, José Wagner S.
Guedes, Nelsa Maria P.
Gontijo, Lessando M.
Guedes, Raul Narciso C.
Gondim, Manoel Guedes C.
author_sort Lima, Debora B.
collection PubMed
description Synthetic pesticide use has been the dominant form of pest control since the 1940s. However, biopesticides are emerging as sustainable pest control alternatives, with prevailing use in organic agricultural production systems. Foremost among botanical biopesticides is the limonoid azadirachtin, whose perceived environmental safety has come under debate and scrutiny in recent years. Coconut production, particularly organic coconut production, is one of the agricultural systems in which azadirachtin is used as a primary method of pest control for the management of the invasive coconut mite, Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae). The management of this mite species also greatly benefits from predation by Neoseiulus baraki (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae). Here, we assessed the potential behavioral impacts of azadirachtin on the coconut mite predator, N. baraki. We explored the effects of this biopesticide on overall predator activity, female searching time, and mating behavior and fecundity. Azadirachtin impairs the overall activity of the predator, reducing it to nearly half; however, female searching was not affected. In contrast, mating behavior was compromised by azadirachtin exposure particularly when male predators were exposed to the biopesticide. Consequently, predator fecundity was also compromised by azadirachtin, furthering doubts about its environmental safety and selectivity towards biological control agents.
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spelling pubmed-43345572015-02-24 Bioinsecticide-Predator Interactions: Azadirachtin Behavioral and Reproductive Impairment of the Coconut Mite Predator Neoseiulus baraki Lima, Debora B. Melo, José Wagner S. Guedes, Nelsa Maria P. Gontijo, Lessando M. Guedes, Raul Narciso C. Gondim, Manoel Guedes C. PLoS One Research Article Synthetic pesticide use has been the dominant form of pest control since the 1940s. However, biopesticides are emerging as sustainable pest control alternatives, with prevailing use in organic agricultural production systems. Foremost among botanical biopesticides is the limonoid azadirachtin, whose perceived environmental safety has come under debate and scrutiny in recent years. Coconut production, particularly organic coconut production, is one of the agricultural systems in which azadirachtin is used as a primary method of pest control for the management of the invasive coconut mite, Aceria guerreronis Keifer (Acari: Eriophyidae). The management of this mite species also greatly benefits from predation by Neoseiulus baraki (Athias-Henriot) (Acari: Phytoseiidae). Here, we assessed the potential behavioral impacts of azadirachtin on the coconut mite predator, N. baraki. We explored the effects of this biopesticide on overall predator activity, female searching time, and mating behavior and fecundity. Azadirachtin impairs the overall activity of the predator, reducing it to nearly half; however, female searching was not affected. In contrast, mating behavior was compromised by azadirachtin exposure particularly when male predators were exposed to the biopesticide. Consequently, predator fecundity was also compromised by azadirachtin, furthering doubts about its environmental safety and selectivity towards biological control agents. Public Library of Science 2015-02-13 /pmc/articles/PMC4334557/ /pubmed/25679393 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118343 Text en © 2015 Lima et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Lima, Debora B.
Melo, José Wagner S.
Guedes, Nelsa Maria P.
Gontijo, Lessando M.
Guedes, Raul Narciso C.
Gondim, Manoel Guedes C.
Bioinsecticide-Predator Interactions: Azadirachtin Behavioral and Reproductive Impairment of the Coconut Mite Predator Neoseiulus baraki
title Bioinsecticide-Predator Interactions: Azadirachtin Behavioral and Reproductive Impairment of the Coconut Mite Predator Neoseiulus baraki
title_full Bioinsecticide-Predator Interactions: Azadirachtin Behavioral and Reproductive Impairment of the Coconut Mite Predator Neoseiulus baraki
title_fullStr Bioinsecticide-Predator Interactions: Azadirachtin Behavioral and Reproductive Impairment of the Coconut Mite Predator Neoseiulus baraki
title_full_unstemmed Bioinsecticide-Predator Interactions: Azadirachtin Behavioral and Reproductive Impairment of the Coconut Mite Predator Neoseiulus baraki
title_short Bioinsecticide-Predator Interactions: Azadirachtin Behavioral and Reproductive Impairment of the Coconut Mite Predator Neoseiulus baraki
title_sort bioinsecticide-predator interactions: azadirachtin behavioral and reproductive impairment of the coconut mite predator neoseiulus baraki
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4334557/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25679393
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118343
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