Role of eggplant trichome in whitefly oviposition and relevance to biological control under greenhouse conditions
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Rodríguez, Estefanía; Porcel, Mario; Lara, Lidia; Cabello García, Tomás; Gámez Cámara, Manuel Angel; [et al.]Date
2024-09-30Abstract
The combined release of the predatory mite Amblyseius swirskii (Athias-Henriot) and the mirid Nesidiocoris tenuis (Reuter) provides effective biological control of the tobacco whitefly (Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius)) in greenhouse eggplant. However, knowing how plants’ trichomes affect pest-predator interactions could improve whitefly management. Here, the effect of two varieties with either the
presence or absence of trichomes was assessed on naturally occurring whitefly populations and predator abundance in a first experiment under field conditions. Predator-prey models were developed to assess the effect of trichomes on pest and predator population dynamics under field conditions. In a second semi-field experiment, the occurrence and oviposition preferences of B. tabaci and A. swirskii in the same eggplant varieties were compared. Significantly higher numbers of whitefly and mite, adults and eggs, were found on the hairy variety in both experiments. However, no differences were found ...
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Entomology
Agronomy