Occurrence of harmful insects, natural enemies and evaluation of the level of diseases in the system without burning of production of cocoa

Abstract

Cacao farming is considered the main perennial crop established in the southwestern
state of Pará. Medicilândia is the largest producer of cocoa beans in Brazil. The culture presents
a system of production with recognized social and environmental economic sustainability
because it is inserted in Agroforestry Systems. It is in this municipality that the project “Roça
Sem Queimar: systematization and analysis of the productive, ecological and socioeconomic
aspects” was developed. The objective of this work was to survey harmful insects, natural
enemies and disease levels in traditional and non-fire farms. Field surveys were carried out in
two different periods of the year and three extracts of roças ages. Among the pests, highlight
the monalonium bug. In relation to the natural enemies, the bug was identified, the red ant and
an entomopathogenic fungus. The level of witch’s broom was lower in the system without fire
compared to the traditional one, especially in the extracts over six years. These results reaffirm
the agroecological importance of non-fire plantations in the maintenance of bio-controllers