Evaluation of Biopesticides for Management of Bemisia tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in Florida

Abstract

The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci MEAM1, is a pest known to significantly impact tomato development and yields through direct damage and virus transmission. To manage this pest, the current study compared the effectiveness of various insecticide rotations. Field trials included rotations involving synthetic insecticides, biochemicals, and microbial agents, applied according to their highest labeled concentrations. The results indicated that while standard synthetic insecticides consistently reduced whitefly egg and nymph counts significantly, microbial biopesticide rotations also achieved reductions, although less consistently. This study demonstrated that while traditional chemical treatments remain highly effective, microbial biopesticides containing Beauveria bassiana and Cordyceps javanica present a viable alternative to manage MEAM1 in tomato fields. The data generated in this study provided baseline information for further investigations to determine the potential for optimizing integrated pest management (IPM) and insecticide resistance management (IRM) strategies by incorporating microbial biopesticides in rotations with a variety of modes of action to sustainably manage B. tabaci MEAM1 populations in agricultural settings.