Alternativas biológicas para reemplazar los plaguicidas de mayor consumo en el Ecuador : Alternativa biológica para el reemplazo de insecticidas en el Ecuador.

Abstract

The chemicals used to control agricultural pests are pesticides. Of these, insecticides are considered the most harmful group and their use is widespread in Ecuador. In this work, a biological alternative for the control of insect pests was evaluated as a potential option to replace the use of insecticides in Ecuador. Based on the information compiled through a bibliographic review, 104 active ingredients (AI) of insecticides were identified for the control of insect pests in 106 crops, of these, rice, banana, cocoa, sugar cane, hard corn, African palm and rosa, are of interest in the country for the area planted and for their participation in exports. It was found that the insect pest Spodoptera frugiperda, lepidopteran of corn, has a higher number of AI registered for its control. As a biological alternative, Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) was identified, a bacterium capable of producing more than 800 insecticidal Cry proteins for different taxonomic orders. Large-scale Bt production is carried out in liquid media with low-cost raw materials that supply carbon, nitrogen, and salt sources. The use of soybean meal, starch and seawater, as culture medium, is a viable option for the production of spores (38x108 spores/mL) and δ-endotoxins (2,80 g/L). For the recovery of the bioinsecticide, several methods are proposed, ranging from ultrafiltration to acid precipitation, whose selection will depend on the investment capacity, volume and efficacy of the product to be achieved.