Abstract

MANFREDI-COIMBRA, Silvana; SILVA, Jovenil José da; CHOCOROSQUI, Viviane Ribeiro  and  PANIZZI, Antônio Ricardo. Damage of the green belly stink bug Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) to wheat. Cienc. Rural [online]. 2005, vol.35, n.6, pp. 1243-1247. ISSN 0103-8478.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0103-84782005000600003.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the reaction of two cultivars of wheat to the damage caused by adults of the green belly stink bug, Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas), confined on the culture from the beginning of tillering. The effect of different infestation levels (0, 2, 4, 8 and 16 bugs m^-2) on the number of tillers m^-2, number of spikes m^-2, weight of 1,000 seeds (g), and yield (kg ha^-1) was evaluated on wheat cvs. ‘BR 18' and ‘BRS 193', in Londrina, Paraná State. The number of tillers m^-2 increased linearly on ‘BR 18' and in a quadratic form on ‘BRS 193', with the increase of the number of bugs m^-2; the number of spikes m^-2, the weight of 1,000 seeds, and the yield decreased linearly with the increase of the infestation level on both cultivars. ‘BRS 193' was the most susceptible to the attack of D. melacanthus, showing a reduction of 254.4kg for each unit of increase in the number of bugs m^-2.

Keywords : Insecta; no till; yield; infestation level.