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Natural Enemies of Insect Pests in Neotropical Agroecosystems pp 437–449Cite as

Weeds

Abstract

Weeds can negatively interfere with agricultural and native ecosystems. The use of herbicides is still an important tactic for weed control, but the low efficacy in some agroecosystems and the environmental impact bring about the need for the development of alternative control strategies. In this chapter, we present the results of some ongoing projects considering the biological control of weeds in Brazil. The classical approach focuses on the South American contributions to control alien weeds through the prospection and selection of insects as potential biocontrol agents. The strategies already adopted have different levels of effectiveness and have targeted weeds native to South America, such as water hyacinth, salvinia, tropical soda apple, lantana, Barbados gooseberry, and strawberry guava. Regarding the bioherbicide approach, there are studies with the pathosystems Colletotrichum truncatum × Bidens pilosa and Bipolaris sp., Colletotrichum sp., and Cercospora sp. × Ipomoea spp. The results focus on both the selection of fungi isolates as potential biological control agents and the epidemiological parameters for disease development, to achieve the highest efficiency in the control of these weeds. Moreover, we discuss some constraints aiming at developing these specific mycoherbicides.

Keywords

  • Classical biological control
  • Bioherbicide
  • Phytopathogens
  • Insects
  • Invasive weeds

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Fig. 35.1

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Embrapa Meio Ambiente, Jaguariúna, SP, Brazil

    Kátia de Lima Nechet & Bernardo de Almeida Halfeld-Vieira

  2. Fundação Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Blumenau, SC, Brazil

    Marcelo Diniz Vitorino

  3. Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Monte Carmelo, MG, Brazil

    Bruno Sérgio Vieira

Authors
  1. Kátia de Lima Nechet
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  2. Marcelo Diniz Vitorino
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  3. Bruno Sérgio Vieira
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  4. Bernardo de Almeida Halfeld-Vieira
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kátia de Lima Nechet .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Prof. Dr. Brígida Souza

  2. Instituto de Investigaciones de Sanidad Vegetal (INISAV), Miramar, La Habana, Cuba

    Luis L. Vázquez

  3. Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), Department of Entomology, Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil

    Rosangela C. Marucci

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Nechet, K.d.L., Vitorino, M.D., Vieira, B.S., Halfeld-Vieira, B.d.A. (2019). Weeds. In: Souza, B., Vázquez, L., Marucci, R. (eds) Natural Enemies of Insect Pests in Neotropical Agroecosystems. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-24733-1_35

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