Abstract:
The sparrow is the most destructive pest of fine-grained cereals in the world. In Mozambique, the sparrow occurs in the north, center and south of the country, in the fields of rice, sorghum, millet and wheat. However, in the country there is no indicative value of damages, loss of income and studies on the type of habitat of this pest species. In this way, this research was carried out with the objective of surveying the vegetation of sparrow breeding areas and assessing the repellent effect of four chemicals in its control through a field trial with rice culture (variety ITA-312) conducted in the district of Chókwè. From the survey of vegetation, about 70 species belonging to 60 genera were found, distributed by 30 families. The genus Acacia was the most frequent, in the arboreal and shrub strata. Digitaria perrottetii, Echinochloa pyramidalis, Panicum maximum, Setaria incrassata and Urochlora mosambicensis were the most abundant grasses. From the mapping of breeding areas, it can be concluded that there is a greater risk of sparrow reproduction in the southern regions, central Mozambique and in the province of Cabo Delgado, in the northern region. Among the evaluated products (methocarbon, ammonium sulfate, copper oxychloride and carbaryl), the greatest repellent effect was observed in the plots treated with methocarbon, with a panicle damage of 8.14%. Metiocarbon was also the most effective repellent in reducing yield losses, which reached a value of 21.37% (TRADUÇÃO NOSSA)
