Effects of irrigation, environmental variability and predatory wasp on Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Méneville) (Lepidoptera: Lyonetiidae), in coffee plants

The population density of the coffee leaf miner Leucoptera coffeella (Guérin-Méneville) can be affected by environmental variables in irrigated agroecosystems and the occurrence of predatory wasps such as Vespidae. In here, we aimed to evaluate the effects of environmental variables, drip irrigation depths and predation by wasps on the population density of L. coffeella. The experiment was carried out during 2004 and 2005 in a Coffea arabica plantation cultivated in the county of Jaboticatubas, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The different irrigation depths set through drip were established considering the daily depth required by the IRRIPLUS program, which was equal to 100%, and two other lower (51% and 72%) and higher (124% and 145%) values, having the control without irrigation. In order to evaluate the coffee leaf miner population density and predation, the number of active and preyed mines was determined on the fourth pair of leaves in a group of ten plants. For the study of interactions among the environmental variables, irrigation depths with the mine density of L. coffeella and predatory wasps, the following methods were used: multivariated analysis, simple linear regression and trail. We concluded that higher pluvial precipitation, solar radiation and irrigation depths would reduce population density of the coffee leaf miner. Furthermore, the increase in density of the predatory wasps was dependent on the population level of L. coffeella.