Universal Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 11(4), pp. 715 - 722
DOI: 10.13189/ujar.2023.110405
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Evaluation of Insecticides in the Management of Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) and their Impacts on Yield of Eggplants

Christian Kareh ^1,2, Nabil Nemer ^1,*
1 Department of Agriculture and Food Engineering, Holy Spirit University of Kaslik, Lebanon
² Unifert SAL, Unifert House Building, Lebanon

ABSTRACT

The sweet potato whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is one of the most destructive widespread polyphagous insects attacking more than 900 plant species. This research aims to compare the effects of pyrifluquinazon and cyantraniliprole insecticides against whiteflies under greenhouse conditions and study their impacts on the yield of eggplants. Two greenhouses divided into three compartments each, were used for this study. Five consecutive treatments were conducted in the two greenhouses at 10-15 day intervals, and 8 pickings were also performed. The first compartment in both greenhouses was treated with pyrifluquinazon, the second with cyantraniliprole, and the third received 5 different conventional insecticides and served as a positive control. Pyrifluquinazon demonstrated statistically high efficacy against eggs and nymphs compared to all other insecticides including cyantraniliprole. The corrected percentage reduction in the whiteflies' egg population was above 99% in both greenhouses and the percentage reduction in the nymph population was above 97% in the compartments treated with pyrifluquinazon alone. Cyantraniliprole showed better results relative to spiromesifen, spirotetramat, tolfenpyrad, sulfoxaflor, and flupyradifurone treated plots. After the fifth application, cyantraniliprole was able to reduce the whiteflies eggs' populations by 23.69% and 42.47% in greenhouses 1 and 2, respectively; whereas whiteflies nymphs' populations were reduced by 76.25% in greenhouse 1. The pyrifluquinazon-treated compartments recorded the highest yield (3.9 Kg/plant) followed by cyantraniliprole-treated compartments (2.2 Kg/plant). The appropriate use of pyrifluquinazon in an integrated pest management program for whiteflies control should be highlighted to prevent a resistance buildup.

KEYWORDS
Bemisia tabaci, Pyrifluquinazon, Cyantraniliprole, Eggplant

Cite This Paper in IEEE or APA Citation Styles
(a). IEEE Format:
[1] Christian Kareh , Nabil Nemer , "Evaluation of Insecticides in the Management of Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) and their Impacts on Yield of Eggplants," Universal Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 715 - 722, 2023. DOI: 10.13189/ujar.2023.110405.

(b). APA Format:
Christian Kareh , Nabil Nemer (2023). Evaluation of Insecticides in the Management of Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) and their Impacts on Yield of Eggplants. Universal Journal of Agricultural Research, 11(4), 715 - 722. DOI: 10.13189/ujar.2023.110405.