Elaboração de uma chave de identificação de múltiplas entradas para as principais pragas associadas à cultura da soja (Glycine max (Linnaeus) Merrill)

Abstract

Brazil is the largest soybean producer in the world. Such productivity depends on the management of rural resources and good field practices, such as the correct identification of plagues. The use of dichotomous taxonomic keys is one of the classic methods, but it is considered difficult for the general public. Digital technology has allowed the advent of new tools, such as multiple-entry identification keys. Therefore, the objective of this work was to develop a multiple-entry identification key for the main plagues associated with soybean cultivation. The plagues (entities), characters (features) and character states (states) were the base for the data matrix incorporated into the Australian software Lucid v. 3.3® that was used to develop the key. The photographs were provided from the personal collection of the author or provided by external researchers, with authorization. The multiple-entry identification key developed in this work has 44 arthropods-plagues, 72 characters and 201 character states. The characters comprise questions with simplified language, and the character states a diversity of eligible alternatives. In addition to the 220 photographs, additional information about each plague was added, such as scientific name, popular name, description of the young and adult phases, damage caused, etc. A tutorial in Portuguese is presented at the beginning of the key, with an explanation of the functions of the shortcut bar and the four available windows. Since the multiple-entry key developed is a non-linear and flexible tool, the user can select the characters and character states (features chosen) in any sequence. Plagues with incompatible characteristics are discarded (entities discarded) until identification is obtained (entities remaining). In Brazil, multiple-entry keys are still little used, but our study stated that they can help inexperienced users in correct identification of plagues, providing greater accessibility, speed, and reliability in recognizing statements and, consequently, in their appropriate management.