Intercropping coffee with Varronia curassavica Jacq. affects arthropod biodiversity

Abstract

Coffee is one of the most important commodities in Brazil, and the country is the largest producer of coffee berries in the world. The changes in the global perception of the importance of agricultural landscapes, climate change, contamination by pesticides and loss of biodiversity haves led to improve the research and the practices on more sustainable agroecosystem and food production. In this sense, companion crop plants can be powerful allies to promote sustainable agroecossystems, reducing the effects of climate changes and loss of biodiversity, as well as improving the natural pest control by offering plant resources needed by natural enemies, resulting in less crop damage by pests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of Varronia curassavica as companion crop to improve pest control of coffee leafminer (CLM) and coffee berry borer (CBB) and to increase the biodiversity, especially parasitoids and predators, as well as studying its protection to coffee plants. The first experiment was carried out in a coffee farm in Paula Cândido, in the Atlantic Forest biome, and the second in Patrocínio, in the Cerrado biome, both in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. At Paula Cândido, we sampled coffee plants for CLM and CBB from January and May of 2023. Biodiversity was also evaluated by sampling arthropods on coffee trees using entomological net and by tray beating. The effect of distance on the protection of coffee plants against CLM provided by V. curassavica was evaluate on transects in a farm where V. currassavica was associated to coffee in Patrocinio. No differences in infestation levels in diversified and conventional plots were observed in Paula Cândido, which was low probably due to chemical inputs and the rainy season. The total number of natural enemies sampled was not significant different in both plots, but diversified plots showed significant higher abundance of predators of Geocoridae and Linyphiidae families and parasitoids of Tachinidae and Chalcididae families. The mean infestation rate of Leucoptera coffeella on the diversified system in Cerrado was low and no differences were observed on the infestation levels across the transect. These results show that Varronia curassavica can be a suitable plant to be used in agroecossystems