POPULATION DYNAMIC OF CRAWLING COLEOPTERAN INSECTS FOUND ASSOCIATED TO CASHEW NUT (Anacardium occidentale L.) IN LEÓN, NICARAGUA

Abstract

The cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.), belongs to the Anacardiaceae family and the Anacardium genus and it is native to the northeastern Brazil. Currently in the area of the western Nicaragua, organic and conventional cashew plantations have increased, these plantations are in hands of small producers who have reported a number of phytosanitary problems. This study was carried out to identify and describe the role of the main crawling associated insects in organic and conventional cashew cultivations. This study was performed during the period between August 2009 and March 2010, in the region of Chacraseca, from the department of León, for this study, three organics and three conventional farms were selected, each of 0.7 size for a total of six farms, weekly sampling for insects was performed, five sampling sites were selected per each farm, manual capture of crawling insect specimens was done using Pitfall traps. All insects collected in the field were brought to the laboratory for their respective identification. The results obtained in this study were as follow: a greater number of insects were found in conventional than in organic plots, however, a greater number of families of insects were found in organic than in conventional plots. The main insect families found associated to cashew were as follow: Carabidae, Curculionidae, Scarabaeidae, Tenebrionidae. It was found that the coleopteran families Tenebrionidae y Carabidae were in greater numbers in both studies systems, compared to other families found. This is the first study in Nicaragua where it was compared the diversity of insects in cashew organic and conventional plots, besides, this is the first time that are been reported the main families, genera and species of insects associated to cashew nut.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/calera.v13i21.1636