Efects of cow urine in the agroecological management of insects and witches' broom (Moniliophtora perniciosa Stahel Aime &Phillips Mora) in cacao crops (Theobroma cacao L.
Witches' broom (Moniliophtora perniciosa Stahel Aime Phillips Mora) was first reported in the state of Bahia (Brazil) in 1989, in areas of cacao cultivation, where it immediately became the most important disease of this culture, responsible for marked losses in production, mainly by weakening the plants and causing leaf area reduction, leading even to the death of the adult plant. After several years of dropping cacao production in the southern region of Bahia, producers have renovated their hopes for farming by adopting practices that favor increments in productivity, such as stand renewal using productive, selfcompatible genetic material that is more resistant to this disease, thus enhancing the cultural management of cacao in agroforestry systems. In order to combat this disease, farmers have resorted to pesticides; however, their indiscriminate use has led to the contamination of workers and the environment, which is increasingly unbalanced and creating resistance to the fungus. Alternative methods to control this disease are already being tested by the producers themselves, who have perceived improvements in their crops and in their quality of life when using them, mainly since they are natural, cheap, and easily accessible, as is the case of cow urine pulverization. In this study, we evaluated the application of cow urine at different concentrations, with five treatments and four repetitions each, using a completely randomized design. The results showed that lactating cow urine at concentrations of 0.5% 1.0% and 1.5% was as efficient as the pesticide used as a control in the experiment, simulating 2 Efects of cow urine in the agroecological management of insects and witches' broom Ci. e Nat. Santa Maria, v.43, e4, 2021 conventional treatment. However, no significant differences in results were observed when using the Tukey test at 5% probability.