Zonal ecotypes of Telenomus remus Nixon, as an alternative biocontroller of Spodoptera frugiperda in corn producers, Santa Elena

Abstract

Corn is of high agricultural and monetary interest, it is attacked by pests, among which Spodoptera, Diatraea and Reduviidae affect yield. For this reason, we sought to identify the species and the zonal ecotype of Telenomus remus, as an alternative biocontroller in the cultivation of corn in the province of Santa Elena. The research has a non-parametric character, for this purpose the information was developed and analyzed with the statistical program InfoStat and surveys and graphs were elaborated. The results show that Telenomus remus, has a higher efficiency as a biological control, when the applications of chemical insecticides are low, therefore the phenological stages of corn do not affect the work of the parasitoid since most of the damage caused by the pest is in full vegetative growth, therefore Telenomus remus, is an effective parasitoid of Spodoptera, Diatraea and Saccharalis eggs. It follows that the producers of the localities do not have knowledge of this species that provides great benefits to their plantations.