Artigo Produção Nacional Revisado por pares

What is the optimal timing to initiate strategic control of Rhipicephalus microplus in taurine cattle in a tropical region?

2024; Springer Science+Business Media; Volume: 92; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1007/s10493-023-00877-1

ISSN

1572-9702

Autores

Luccas Lourenzzo Lima Lins Leal, Lorena Lopes Ferreira, Igor Maciel Lopes de Morais, Vanessa Ferreira Salvador, Artur Siqueira Nunes Trindade, Octaviano Pereira Neto, Vando Edésio Soares, Fernando de Almeida Borges, Caio Márcio de Oliveira Monteiro, Welber Daniel Zanetti Lopes,

Tópico(s)

Insect and Pesticide Research

Resumo

Cattle tick control poses a significant challenge for livestock in tropical and subtropical regions. The objective of this study was to determine the most suitable timing to initiate a strategic tick control program and to identify the ideal number of acaricide treatments for adult taurine cattle (Bos taurus taurus) in a tropical region throughout the year. Three groups with 10 bovines each were performed: T01 (strategic treatment in late autumn/winter/late spring, every 28 days), T02 (strategic treatment to act in the "first tick generation" – early spring/summer/early autumn, every 28 days) and T03 (control). Tick counts (females 4–8 mm) were conducted every 14 days. If the tick burden in any group reached 30 or more during these counts, we applied an additional treatment. Over the course of a year, T02 required significantly fewer (p < 0.05) acaricide treatments than T01, with nine treatments for T02 and eleven for T01. Furthermore, during the tick counts, animals in T02 showed a lower tick burden compared to those in T01. Initiating the strategic tick control program in early spring, corresponding to the first tick generation, proved more effective than starting in autumn. This approach not only required fewer acaricide treatments but also resulted in a reduced tick burden. These benefits are particularly valuable in terms of animal welfare and managing acaricide resistance issues.

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