Biological Products for the Control of Spodoptera Frugiperha (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae

The armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a major polyphagous pest of crops in Durango, Mexico. Many chemicals are used to control it, which are generally harmful to health; thus, as an alternative to the use of these insecticides, the toxicities of different commercial products were evaluated for the biological control of armyworm. The products evaluated in the laboratory for use against neonate larvae were: Micoralis®, with a base of Beauveria bassiana; Crimax® (Bacillus thuringiensis); Neempower®, consisting of neem oil and a chemical insecticide: and Lorsban as the positive control. The design was completely randomized with repeated measurements every 24 h. Neempower® was the most effective, with an average mortality rate of 86.66% at a dose of 20.00%; followed by Crimax® (70.66%), which obtained an LC₅₀ of 189.53 µg mL^-1. Micoralis® was less effective at a concentration of 1 x 10⁷ spores mL^-1 (49.33%), with an LC₅₀ of 2.53 x 10⁹ spores mL^-1. It was also found that it is possible to combine a bio-rational product (Neem) with B. thuringiensis to achieve efficient control. Lorsban® caused 100% mortality at a concentration of 1%, which suggests that this product causes the death of insect pests, natural enemies, and pollinators even at very low doses, thus, its use is not recommended. Significant differences were found between treatments (F = 673.23; P=0.001). This study revealed that it is possible to implement the use of bio-insecticides and bio-rationals to control S. frugiperda in the study region.