BIOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF CORN PLANTS TREATED WITH HERBICIDES AND RELATIONS WITH THE DEVELOPMENT AND BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF Spodoptera frugiperda (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE)

• Grant number: 12/00491-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: October 01, 2012
• End date: August 31, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Plant Health
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Broetto
• Grantee: Mário Henrique Ferreira Do Amaral Dal Pogetto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IBB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Herbicides can cause physiological changes in plants influencing qualitatively and quantitatively the nutritional value of plants and production of secondary compounds. It can also interfere in the population dynamics of both insect pests and natural enemies, affecting even the natural biological control. In this sense, neonate larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda will be rearing in corn leaves treated with the herbicides atrazine and nicossulfuron. It will be evaluated the development of young and reproductive phase. Pupae of S. Frugiperda, whose caterpillars will feed of plants treated with herbicides, will be exposed to the parasitoid Trichospilus diatraeae in laboratory to evaluate the influence of these herbicides on the insect development and rate of parasitism. In the field, corn plants will be sprayed with the same herbicides to evaluate the population fluctuation of S. frugiperda and their natural enemies. In all tests (laboratory and field) corn leaves will be collected to determine the protein, soluble sugars, lipids and total phenolic compounds and the activity of enzymes phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, catalasys and superoxide dismutase levels. Any biochemical changes in corn plants, development and population dynamics of S. frugiperda or parasitism in the laboratory and field will maybe be correlated. It is expected that changes in both nutritional content and secondary compounds may explain or indicate which mechanisms are involved in this relationship or which of them should be studied further.