Efeito da Aplicação de Nematoides Entomopatogênicos sobre Frutos Infestados com Broca-do-café, Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

The coffee berry borer (CBB), Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari), is the most important pest of almost all coffee producing countries. Parasitoids of CBB have been intensively studied as the main biological control agents; however another alternative for the integrated management is the use of entomopathogenic nematodes. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the penetration and lethality of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora and Steinernema feltiae (Rhabditida: Heterorhabditidae and Steinernematidae), applied in four concentrations of infective juveniles (IJs) (5, 25, 125 and 625 per fruit), on fruits infested with CBB. The evaluated variables were: index of penetration into the fruit and percentage of mortality of the borer verified 168 hours after the application of the nematodes. In the concentrations 125 and 625 IJs / fruit, for both nematodes, the indexes of penetration were 18.7 and 15.0 %, which differed (P ≤ 0.05) from those obtained with the lower concentrations (5.2 % for 25 IJs / fruit and 0.7 % for 5 IJs / fruit). Likewise, higher concentrations of nematodes were associated with higher mortality of CBB (49.6 and 50.9 %). Considering the nematode species, H. bacteriophora caused higher average mortality (46.9 %), differing from S. feltiae (28.8 %). These results proved that IJs of both species, but mainly H. bacteriophora, penetrated coffee berries and causes CBB death. Therefore, future investigations should be carried out in order to evaluate the control of CBB in fruits that fall on the soil.