Evaluation of the Efficiency of some Integrated Control Agents in Controlling the Different Stage of the Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleurodidae) in the Field

Abstract

Abstract The cotton whitefly is a complex biological species. Bemisia tabaci (Genn) is an important pest that affects various crops in Iraq and the world, which causes economic damage to the vegetable production of crops. For this reason, the study aimed to use some elements of integrated control to whitefly in all its harmful stages on crops and to evaluate the efficiency of biopesticides (Bacillus bassiana, Beauveria bassiana, Paecilomyces lilacinus fungus, Entomopathogenic nematodes for both sexes, Heterohabditis sp. - Steinernema sp.)and chemical pesticides (Alafsket, Oxymatrin, Baron) used in the field against the different stages of the insect, as these bio and chemical treatments recorded a high mortality rate for eggs and primary stages that were more sensitive than pupae and adults who had a lower death rate for those advanced stages of the insect. Where the pathogenic nematodes gave the highest mortality rate compared to the used biopesticides, the results of the nematode suspension for the egg death experiment on the third day of treatment were 84.0%. In comparison, the treatment results for the experiment with the destruction of primary nymphs for the seventh day were 80.3%. The results of the treatment for the adult mortality experiment on the thirteenth day were 87.50% (note that nematodes were used in the field under suitable conditions for the growth of effective larvae to control against the stages of the insect, and it was 25-30 °C and humidity 60, and the diluted nematode suspension was kept under 10 °C to maintain the vitality of the effective larvae. As for the chemical treatments, the chemical pesticide Offset was superior to a high mortality rate for different insect stages compared to other chemical treatments. As for the experiment results, the morality of the primary nymphs on the seventh day was 87.7%, and the pesticide treatment for the experiment with the death of adults on the thirteenth day was recorded at 94.17%.