The cotton whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) (Hom., Aleyrodidae) is a serious insect pest worldwide. The pest attacks numerous vegetable crops and is considered an important vector of plant viral diseases. Serangium parcesetosum Sicard (Col., Coccinellidae) is a specialist predator of whiteflies. Therefore, this study is aimed at evaluating the effect of S. parcesetosum release time and rate on B. tabaci population on cotton and cucumber.
The predator was introduced at densities of 1: 25 on cotton, and 1: 30 and 1: 20 predator/prey/plant on cucumber in 3 treatments. It was found that the number of whiteflies was significantly lower in the group where these predators were introduced than in the control group, where they were not.
Read the complete research at researchgate.net.
Al-Zyoud, Firas. (2021). Releasing the predator Serangium parcesetosum (Col., Coccinellidae) to control the cotton whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hom., Aleyrodidae) under greenhouse conditions.