Economic injury levels and sequential sampling plans for control decision-making systems of Bemisia tabaci biotype B adults in watermelon crops.

BACKGROUND: Decision-making systems are essential parts of integrated pest management programs. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a major pest of many crops, including watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), the second most consumed fruit worldwide. However, there are still no studies on decision-making systems for B. tabaci on this crop. Thus, we aim to determine a decision-making system to control B. tabaci biotype B on watermelon crops.

RESULTS: The highest densities of B. tabaci biotype B reduced the yield of watermelon crops by up to 56%. Watermelon plants were more susceptible to the pest at the vegetative than at the reproductive stage. The economic injury levels of B. tabaci biotype B when the watermelon had low, average, and high prices were, respectively, 0.52, 0.21, and 0.13 adults leaf-1 at the vegetative stage and 1.69, 0.69, and 0.44 adults leaf-1 at the reproductive stage. The sequential plans made the same decisions as the conventional plan, and they reduced the time and cost of sampling by up to 92.68%.

CONCLUSION: The decision-making systems determined in this study enable an expedited and proper decision to be made for controlling B. tabaci, biotype B and can be used in different price situations of watermelon and in crops at different phenological stages. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.