Integrated Potential of Microbial, Botanical, and Chemical Pesticides for the Control of Viral Disease Vector Whiteflies (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) on Tomato under Greenhouse and Field Perspectives

Abstract

Whiteflies are one of the most devastating horticultural pests attacking tomatoes. Although there are several control methods for the control of whitefly pests, the integrated application of entomopathogenic fungi (IPM) with chemical and botanical insecticides has proven more effective than individual control agents. This study was carried out to evaluate individual and combined treatments of entomopathogens B. bassiana, M. anisopliae, B. thuringiensis, Hunter 40 EC, and neem oil for the control of whitefly species on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) under greenhouse and field condition. The greenhouse study showed that the different treatments resulted in a 58.48 to 100% reduction of nymphs and a 52.06 to 100% reduction of adults on both Galilea and Melkashola tomato varieties under greenhouse conditions. The combined treatments of AAUMB-29 + Neem oil displayed a higher yield (423.3 g fruits/plant) on the Gelilea tomato variety, and AAUDM-43 + Hunter 40 EC displayed a yield of (376.66 g/plant) on the Melkashola tomato variety. Under field conditions, the application of AAUMB-29 + Hunter 40 EC + Neem oil significantly decreased the whitefly population by 91.93% ( $P<0.001$ ) after 10 days of the fourth spray. The result of fruit yield of tomato was significantly higher in all treatments (31.17 t to 70.42 t·ha−1) compared to untreated control (25.83 t·ha−1). Among the treatments, AAUMB-29 + Hunter 40 EC + Neem oil gave the highest fruit yield of 70.42 t·ha−1 followed by AAUMB-29 + Hunter 40 EC (64.50 t·ha−1) on the Galilea tomato variety under field conditions. The combined treatment of AAUMB-29 + Hunter 40 EC + Neem oil was the most effective with lower whitefly infestation, higher marketable yields, and less percentage of yield losses. Further investigations are required to determine the optimization and practicability of this integrated application of treatments for the control of both sucking and chewing insect pests under field conditions.