Monday, 15 November 2004 - 4:24 PM
0533

Effects of living and synthetic mulches on the population dynamics of homopteran pests and zucchini marketable yield

Daniel L. Frank, dfrank@ufl.edu and Oscar E. Liburd, oeliburd@mail.ifas.ufl.edu. University of Florida, Entomology and Nematology, P.O. Box 110620, Bldg. 970, Natural Area Dr, Gainesville, FL

Living and synthetic mulches were evaluated for control of the silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring, and melon aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover, in zucchini. Two living mulches, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.), and two synthetic mulches, reflective and white were evaluated during the fall of 2002 and 2003. Results from both trap and foliar counts showed that reflective and buckwheat mulches consistently had fewer incidences of adult whiteflies and aphids compared with the other mulch treatments evaluated including bare ground. Although white mulch consistently had higher adult whitefly and aphid populations than other mulch treatments, there were no significant differences between white and reflective mulch when comparing yield. Overall, synthetic mulches had significantly higher yields than living mulch and bare ground. The deleterious effects of competition from the living mulches on zucchini yield outweighed any positive benefits they may have had on reducing aphid and whitefly pest populations. The effectiveness of mulches for controlling immature whitefly numbers, and the incidence of squash silverleaf disorder were inconsistent between years. Although squash silverleaf disorder has been known to reduce yields, it didn’t appear to be a major factor in this study. Additional data taken at the end of the 2003 season revealed that two viral strains, PRSV-W and WMV-2 were present in the field. However, visual symptoms associated with these viral diseases did not occur until the final weeks of harvest, and subsequently had little affect on zucchini yield.


Species 1: Homoptera Aleyrodidae Bemisia argentifolii (silverleaf whitefly)
Species 2: Homoptera Aphididae Aphis gossypii (melon aphid, cotton aphid)
Keywords: zucchini, mulch

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