Diagnosis of organic and conventional agriculture and associated insects in the municipality of Paraíba do Sul-RJ

Abstract

This work aimed to elaborate a comparative diagnosis of the occurrence of plants and insects
in two cultivation systems: organic and conventional, in the rural community of Paraíba do
Sul-RJ. We had applied questionnaires in 20 rural properties, 10 organic and 10 conventional.
The average number of cultivated plant species was approximately nine times higher in organic
cultivated properties (24.4 ± 20.04) than in conventional cultivation (2.70 ± 1.77). The average
of beneficial plant species under organic cultivation was 3.60 ± 3.72 species and under conventional
cultivation was 0.1 ± 0.11 species. The mean number of insect species harmful to cultivated
plants was higher in areas with organic cultivation (4.80 ± 2.94) than conventional (3.50
± 1.58). The same occurred with the species of beneficial insects under organic cultivation
(4,10 ± 1,52) and conventional (1,6 ± 1,78). This difference is attributed to the use of insecticides
in properties that adopt conventional cultivation.