Trichogramma in Brazil: feasibility of use after twenty years of research

Abstract

Results of studies with Trichogramma in Brazil are presented, especially those developed at ESALQ/USP in the past two decades (1984-2004). The project involved taxonomy, rearing techniques, biological and behavioral aspects of the pests and parasitoids, pest population dynamics, release techniques, selectivity studies, and efficiency evaluation. It can be considered a model project and has been adopted by other biological control programs in Brazil and Latin America. The program has given rise to a number of publications, allowing the formation of human resources in this area and opening new research areas. The results indicated that the parasitoid can be used to control key pests in cotton, sugarcane, stored grain, vegetables, corn, soybean, and tomato. The perspective of using the parasitoid has stimulated the creation of companies to commercialize it in Brazil, thus more easily transferring this technology to users.