Advantages of ecological management of leafminers (Diptera: Agromyzidae)in commercial cultivation of crisphead lettuce in southern Brazil

Abstract: The objective this work was to evaluate the potential interference of two types ofmanagement of leafminer populations and their parasitoids under commercial productionconditions of lettuce in plastic tunnels in the state of Minas Gerais, southeast Brazil. Thecomparison between conventional management using calendar sprays of insecticides, andecological management with Bacillus thuringiensis, sticky traps and pheromones, showed thatecological management has several advantages over chemical control. In the plastic tunnel withecological management lower numbers of leafminers emerged, a greater number of parasitoidsemerged, the control costs were lower and the commercial value was equivalent to theconventionally managed crop.