SmartBIn: New technology for mass rearing the parasitoid Jaliscoa grandis to control the boll weevil

• Grant number: 24/09488-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Innovative Research in Small Business - PIPE
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Ana Clara Ribeiro de Paiva Iost
• Grantee: Ana Clara Ribeiro de Paiva Iost
• CNAE: Atividades de apoio à agricultura ; Pesquisa e desenvolvimento experimental em ciências físicas e naturais
• Associated research grant(s): 25/19769-0 - SmartBIn: New technology for mass rearing the parasitoid Jaliscoa grandis to control the boll weevil, AP.PIPE
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/19668-6 - Development of alternative technology for Jaliscoa grandis mass rearing., BP.TT; 24/20607-1 - SmartBIn: new technology for mass rearing the parasitoid Jaliscoa grandis to control the boll weevil, BP.PIPE

Abstract

In the context of Brazilian agriculture, cotton crops are among those most prominent, both in terms of area and production and technology. On the other hand, a negative highlight of cotton crops is the high consumption of synthetic pesticides, mainly to control the crop's main pest, the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, 1843 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Due to demands from the consumer market, mainly international, and a change in the mentality of Brazilian farmers, the use of alternative pest management techniques to chemical control has been growing in recent years, with emphasis on biological control. An example of a macroorganism used as a biological control agent for A. grandis is the larval parasitoid Jaliscoa grandis Burks, 1954 (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae). Unlike chemical molecules that have difficulty reaching their target, this parasitoid actively searches for boll weevil larvae, attacking them even inside cotton plant structures. There is already a commercial product based on J. grandis, however, produced on a low scale by the Minas Gerais Association of Cotton Producers (AMIPA) for local use in small areas. An alternative methodology for breeding this parasitoid is already well established by SmartMIP, presenting greater viability and lower cost in relation to the methodology used by AMIPA, which uses boll weevil larvae as the parasitoid's host. In our model, we used an alternative host, the weevil Calosobruchus maculatus Fabr., 1775 (Coleoptera: Bruchidae), raised on cowpea grains. However, thinking about the main model for releasing macroorganisms currently (via drone) and the large areas of cotton crops, even with a high production of this biological control agent, we could encounter technical obstacles at the time of release. The best time to release a parasitoid in the field is in the pupal stage and, so that we can use this agent at this stage, changes in the production methodology of this insect were devised by the company. The replacement of cowpea grains will be tested, since the release of parasitoids inside bean grains in cotton fields makes the release of this bioinput unfeasible. In order to replace the bean grain in the parasitoid's production process, the SmartBIn technology was designed, an artificial grain with natural components that first allows the development of the parasitoid host. Subsequently, parasitoid production will be evaluated using host larvae raised on these artificial grains. Thus, the objective is to evaluate the development of the alternative host and the parasitoid J. grandis in different formulations of artificial grains. Several bioecological parameters of these species will be evaluated. If a satisfactory result of parasitoid production is obtained in any formulation, the new breeding methodology could enable the use of the J. grandis parasitoid in large cotton production areas, being compatible with drone release technology. (AU)