Floating row covers were tested on Guam and proved effective in protecting watermelon, Citrullus lanatus, against the orange cucumber beetle, Aulocophora similis, and melon aphid, Aphis gossypii. Three randomized blocks were established, each consisting of an uncovered 15 m long control row, a second row where polypropylene floating row covers were installed at planting and removed at the onset of flowering, and a third row where the cover was removed one week following the appearance of the first bloom. The control row was sprayed with carbaryl when beetle densities reached 1 per row. Watermelons were harvested when deemed ripe through visual inspection on three harvesting dates separated by about 7 days. There were differences in total yield and number of fruit between the three treatments. Yields were slightly higher in rows where the covering was removed at the appearance of the first bloom, followed by the later-removed row cover treatment and the uncovered, sprayed control. Fruit ripening was synchronized in rows with floating row covers, with the majority of fruit being harvested at the first available harvest date. There were fewer watermelons harvested initially from the uncovered control rows, although the total weight and number of harvested fruit significantly increased when yield from the second harvest was considered. Increased control costs incurred by using floating row covers on watermelon may be offset on Guam by income from increased yield and from savings accrued from reduced labor and materials costs from not having to spray for aphids, cucumber beetles or other insect pests.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Aulocophora similis (orange cucumber beetle)
Species 2: Homoptera Aphididae Aphis gossypii (melon aphid, cotton aphid)
Keywords: watermelon, Western Pacific Ocean
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA