Occurrence of Faustinus sp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Southeastern Brazil tomato crops

Gustavo  Dias de Almeida; Gilberto  Santos Andrade; Victor Bernardo  Vicentini; Wagner  Faria Barbosa; Fabio  Moreira Sobreira; Dirceu  Pratissoli

Occurrence of Faustinus sp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Southeastern Brazil tomato crops

Autores

Gustavo Dias de Almeida

Gilberto Santos Andrade

Victor Bernardo Vicentini

Wagner Faria Barbosa

Fabio Moreira Sobreira

Dirceu Pratissoli

Editor

Universidad Nacional de Colombia

Descripción

Occurrence of Faustinus sp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) plantations in the State of Espirito Santo, Brazil, was confirmed through field observations carried out between April 2006 and March 2008. Larvae of Faustinus sp. bore the stems of tomato plants, whereas adults feed on the leaves. Bored stems are then easily broken by the wind, by manual handling or by plant weight itself. Crop rotation and removal of crop residues may help reduce pest population levels.