Financial impacts by the adoption of integrated pest management in tomato crop - DOI: 10.4025/actasciagron.v26i2.1889

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the financial impact of the use of action level and surrounding crop strips on the tomato cultivated during spring-summer and winter-spring. The species used in the surrounding strips were Crotalaria juncea, pigeon pea, corn, and sorghum. Leafminers attack was similar in the two cultivation seasons. The attacks of borer insects in the stem apexes and fruits were larger 443 and 45% in the spring-summer cultivation than in the winter-spring cultivation, respectively. The action levels used decreased 25 to 87% of the insecticide applications and it decreased the production cost in 20%. The use of action level + surrounding strips reduced the production cost in 37% and increased Hymenoptera predator populations, mainly in the winter-spring cultivation. Sorghum surrounding strip + action levels was the best treatment because it showed the largest productivity and economic profitability, besides leading to the greatest reduction in insecticide applications