Population fluctuation and food preference of African snail by horticulture crops

Flutuação populacional e preferência alimentar do caramujo-africano por culturas hortícolas

ABSTRACT:

The African snail Achatina fulica (Bowdich, 1822), originally from Africa, was introduced in Brazil and since then became an important pest, because of its resistance to abiotic conditions, hermaphroditism, polyphagia and absence of natural enemies. Considered as one of the 100 worst pests in the world, with the record of establishment in almost all Brazilian states, it causes sanitary, ecological and economic losses. In this context, the objective of this study was to determine the population dynamics and food preference of the giant snail in three areas of lettuce, located in Alagoas, Brazil. There was no statistical difference between food preference tests with and without choice among the varieties offered. To the fluctuation of the population of A. fulica, the Pearson correlation coefficients were negative only for temperature, and there was no correlation with precipitation and relative humidity.

KEYWORDS:
Ecology; Lactuca sativa; Achatina fulica; management; mollusk