Occurrence of Scaptocoris castanea Perty (Hemiptera: Cydnidae) damaging Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae) seedlings in Brazil

SCIENTIFIC NOTE

Occurrence of Scaptocoris castanea Perty (Hemiptera: Cydnidae) damaging Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae) seedlings in Brazil

FI Matias^{I, II}; MV Sampaio^I; L Coelho^I; J Grazia^III

^IInstituto de Ciências Agrárias, Univ Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brasil

^IIUndergraduate in Agriculture, Scholar of MEC/PET-Agronomia

^IIIDepto de Zoologia, Univ Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil; CNPq fellowship

^{Correspondence}

ABSTRACT

Neem (Azadirachta indica) seedlings were found infested by the brown burrower bug, Scaptocoris castanea Perty, in December 2009, in the county of Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais state. Symptoms observed varied from leaf yellowing and stem drying, reduction in root size and number to plant death. This is the first report of S. castanea attacking neem plants.

Keywords: Pest, brown burrower bug, Indian neem

The neem tree, Azadirachta indica, is originally from India and produces bactericidal, insecticidal, nematicidal and fungicidal molecules. It was introduced in Brazil in 1986 (Martinez 2002) and is cultivated in the major arid regions of the world due to its rusticity and adaptation to degraded areas (Koul 2004).

Its use is diversified; however, the most striking use is for the chemical control of agricultural pests due to the low toxicity to mammals, pollinators and fish (see review by Isman 2006). Although neem seed extracts present insecticidal properties, young plants are susceptible to several insect pests (Schmutterer 1998, Ahmed 2008, Kiyanthy & Mikunthan 2009). In Brazil, until now, the only reported pests were leaf cutting ants of the genera Atta and Acromyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (Neves & Carpanezzi 2008) and the shot-hole borer Apate terabrans (Pallas) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae) (Souza et al 2009).

We describe here a study done on a one hectare orchard containing nearly 840 neem seedlings in the county of Tupaciguara, Minas Gerais state, Fazenda Santa Maria, which were planted on November 2009. Leaf yellowing and wilting were observed thirty days after planting, probably as a symptom of the attack of the root system by a pest, in approximately 15% of the area (123 seedlings). Leaves turned yellow and wilted, reaching permanent wilting point, resulting in death of 31% (38 seedlings) of the attacked plants. Seedlings that did not die sprouted from the stem base, recovering the canopy (Fig 1). Forty symptomatic plants were uprooted to observe the root system. Darkening and reduction of the root system was observed, especially of the radicels. About 53 nymphs and adults of the brown burrower bug, Scaptocoris castanea Perty were observed per plant, varying from 28 to 75 bugs.

Three of the Scaptocoris species are named brown burrower bugs due to their burrowing habit and damage caused to plants (S. castanea, S. carvalhoi Becker and S. buckupi Becker). Scaptocoris castanea is characterized by presenting tarsi in fore and median legs, both in adults and nymphs, thus distinguishing from S. carvalhoi, in which the tarsi are lacking; the pattern of distribution of the setae in the median tibia, showing a dorsal glabrous area in S. castanea, distinguishes it from S. buckupi. Scaptocoris castanea is usually larger and colored darker brown than the other species. Scaptocoris castanea is polyphagous, causing severe damage to several crops, especially grasses (Becker 1996), being reported in 22 cultivated plants, and at least seven grass species (Fernandes et al 2004). This is the first report of S. castanea attacking A. indica.

Acknowledgments

To Mr. Maurilio Matias and Mrs. Eleuzabete Inácio Matias, owners of the Fazenda Santa Maria.

Received 14 April 2010 and accepted 17 April 2010

Edited by Fernando L Cônsoli - ESALQ/USP

References

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  09 May 2011
• Date of issue
  Apr 2011

History

• Received
  14 Apr 2010
• Accepted
  17 Apr 2010