Survival and injuries of Deois flavopicta (Stal., 1854) in pastures under seed treatment with insecticides and dry mass yield

ABSTRACT: The present study evaluated the survival and injuries of Deois flavopicta (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) in pastures of Urochloa (Syn. Brachiaria) decumbens and U. brizantha, submitted to seed treatment with fipronil (Amulet®) and thiamethoxam (Cruiser 350 FS®), and dry mass yield. The experiment, carried out at the APTA Experimental Unity, São José do Rio Preto, SP, Brazil, was designed in randomly blocks, with six treatments (factorial 2x3) and four replications. Sowing was manual, with 12.0 kg ha-1 seeds. Twenty adults were released on the plot, in a 40x40x70 cm cage, forty-nine days after sowing. The insects were sampled every two days during twelve days, without replacement of dead insects. Injuries caused by the spittlebug were evaluated by a rating scale and by productivity (dry mass yield). Data were analyzed by F-test and means compared by Tukey’s test (p≤0.05). The survival of adults was higher in the U. decumbens pasture than in the U. brizantha pasture. Results show that seed treatment with thiamethoxam reduced the survival of D. flavopicta in pasture formation, but did not influence the injuries caused by insect and the dry mass yield of forage species.