Estudio de la artropofauna asociada a piñón (Jatropha curcas) en Manabí, Ecuador

Abstract

Los estudios sobre piñón Jatropha curcas L. en Ecuador son recientes, pese a ser considerado un cultivo tradicional. Su importancia actual como materia prima para producir biocombustibles, ha motivado el inicio de investigaciones para conocer sobre su comportamiento y relación con factores bióticos y abióticos del entorno. Consciente de ello, en 2008 el Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP) en Portoviejo realizó el primer levantamiento en el país de la artropofauna asociada a piñón en una plantación de aproximadamente una hectárea y un año de edad, manejada con riegos suplementarios. Trabajos de campo y laboratorio permitieron determinar la existencia de 40 especies de artrópodos, agrupadas en 30 familias y ocho órdenes asociados a J. curcas. El 65% de las especies (depredadores, parasitoides y polinizadores). El destacándose las especies Polyphagotarsonemus latus y Tetranychus sp., seguido por especies de insectos como las chicharritas Empoasca spp. y trips Selenothrips rubrocinctus. P. latus se presentó de manera regular durante todo el año, a diferencia de Tetranychus sp. que concentró sus poblaciones durante el periodo seco. Se registraron especies de ácaros depredadores de la familia Phytoseiidae que contribuyen a mantener en equilibrio la población.

Despite of being considered a traditional crop in Ecuador, physic nut Jatropha curcas L. has been recently studied in the country. Because of its present-day importance as a raw material in the production of biofuels, there has been growing interest in studying its behavior and relationship with biotic and abiotic factors in the environment. Due of this situation, National Institute of Agricultural Research of the arthropods associated with physic nut in the country. The activity was carried out in Portoviejo, in a one-year-old plantation of nearly one hectare that received additional irrigation. Work conducted at the presence of 40 species of arthropods, which were J. curcas. 65% of the species were phytophagous and 35% biological regulators (predators, parasitoids and pollinators). The order Acari was the most abundant among the phytophagous species, particularly Polyphagotarsonemus latus y Tetranychus sp., Empoasca spp. and thrips Selenothrips rubrocinctus. P. latus was regularly found throughout the year, while Tetranychus sp. populations were observed during the dry season. Species of predatory mites of the family Phytoseiidae that contribute to regulating phytophagous mites populations in the physic nut agricultural system were found in the study.