It is important to quantify the population of stink bugs in the soybean, in order to determine the actions which are necessary for their control to protect the crop from losses in production, together with a reduction in cost and less environmental impact. The objectives of this study were to determine the sample size (the number of sampling points) needed to estimate the average population density of the bugs, and to verify the variability in sample size for the phases and species of the bugs and the phenological stages of the plants. In an area of 6.16 ha of soybeans, a grid of 154 sampling points, spaced 20 × 20 m apart, was laid out. Population-density data were collected for nymphs and adults of the species Dichelops furcatus (Fabricius, 1775),... |