Relationship between bioassay data and the simulated field performance of insecticides against susceptible and resistant adult Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae)

Abstract

AbstractAdults from seven strains of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) were tested with nine insecticides or combinations in both leaf-dip bioassays and the Rothamsted field simulators. A statistical model was used to describe the survival of the insects in the field simulators and comparisons made to the resistance factors from leaf-dip assays. Strains of B. tabaci shown to be susceptible in bioassays were well controlled by field rates of the insecticides in the field simulators. For each insecticide or combination, the degree of adult survival in field simulators after insecticide treatment was positively related to the resistance factor. However, similar resistance factors for different insecticides gave quite different adult field simulator survival. In populations with high resistance factors, adult mortality in the field simulators after insecticide application was not different to untreated controls. These data provide information about the implications of B. tabaci resistance on the field performance of insecticides.