Evaluation of Living and Synthetic Mulches in Zucchini for Control of Homopteran Pests
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EVALUATION OF LIVING AND SYNTHETIC MULCHES IN ZUCCHINI FOR CONTROL OF HOMOPTERAN PESTS By DANIEL L. FRANK A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2004 Copyright 2004 by Daniel L. Frank ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank my major professor, Dr. Oscar Liburd, for giving me the opportunity to acquire my master’s degree at the University of Florida. His support and guidance throughout this project were critical for its completion. I am grateful to everyone working in the Fruit and Vegetable IPM lab for their help and support during my field seasons. I thank Dr. Susan Webb for the use of her lab and equipment, and for the critical review of this thesis. I thank Dr. Frank Slansky for his helpful ideas, and the critical review of this thesis. I am grateful to Scott Taylor and the Plant Science Research and Education Unit for their help in the design and maintenance of my research plots. I thank Alejandro Arévalo for his statistical help. I thank Dr. Cerruti Hooks for his help and guidance during the course of this research. I am grateful to Mike Miller for his help with ELISA testing. Above all, I thank my family for all their encouragement and inspiration. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................... vii ABSTRACT..................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 2 LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................................................5 Silverleaf Whiteflies .....................................................................................................5 Biology and Behavior............................................................................................6 Monitoring.............................................................................................................7 Aphids...........................................................................................................................7 Biology and Behavior............................................................................................8 Monitoring.............................................................................................................9 Management of Whiteflies and Aphids ........................................................................9 Synthetic Mulch...................................................................................................10 Living Mulch.......................................................................................................11 Impact on Yield ...................................................................................................12 3 EFFECTS OF LIVING AND SYNTHETIC MULCH ON THE POPULATION DYNAMICS OF HOMOPTERAN PESTS, THEIR ASSOCIATED NATURAL ENEMIES, AND INSECT-TRANSMITTED PLANT IMPAIRMENTS .................14 Methods ......................................................................................................................15 Field Trials...........................................................................................................15 Trap sampling......................................................................................................16 Foliar Sampling ...................................................................................................17 Physiological Disorder Evaluation......................................................................18 Disease Identification ..........................................................................................18 Statistical Analysis ..............................................................................................18 iv Results.........................................................................................................................19 Trap Sampling .....................................................................................................19 Foliar Sampling ...................................................................................................20 Physiological Disorder Evaluation......................................................................21 Disease Identification ..........................................................................................21 Discussion...................................................................................................................22 4 IMPACT OF LIVING AND SYNTHETIC MULCHES ON ZUCCHINI PLANT SIZE AND MARKETABLE YIELD.........................................................................39 Methods ......................................................................................................................40 Field Trials...........................................................................................................40 Plant Size Sampling.............................................................................................41 Yield Sampling....................................................................................................41 Statistical Analysis ..............................................................................................41 Results.........................................................................................................................42 Plant Size Sampling.............................................................................................42 Yield Sampling....................................................................................................42 Discussion...................................................................................................................43 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS.........................................................................49 LIST OF REFERENCES...................................................................................................53 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .............................................................................................60 v LIST OF TABLES Table page 3-1. Mean number of adult whiteflies per YS trap in Citra, FL........................................25 3-2. Mean number of alate aphids per pan-trap in Citra, FL ............................................26 3-3. Mean number of aphids and whiteflies per zucchini leaf in Citra, FL (2002) ..........27 3-4. Mean number of aphids and whiteflies per zucchini leaf in Citra, FL (2003) ..........28 3-5. Mean number of immature whiteflies per leaf in Citra, FL.......................................29 3-6. Mean number of natural enemies per leaf in Citra, FL .............................................30 3-7. Mean silverleaf score per treatment in Citra, FL.......................................................31 4-1. Mean yield weight (kg) of zucchini in Citra, FL.......................................................46 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure page 3-1. Mean number of alate aphids per pan-trap type in Citra, FL (2003).........................32 3-2. Percentage of total pest individuals sampled in Citra, FL categorized by taxon (2002)........................................................................................................................33 3-3. Percentage of total pest individuals sampled in Citra, FL categorized by taxon (2003)........................................................................................................................34 3-4. Populations of immature whiteflies on zucchini plant strata in Citra, FL (2002) .....35 3-5. Populations of immature whiteflies on zucchini plant strata in Citra, FL (2003) .....36 3-6. Percentage of total natural enemies sampled in Citra, FL categorized by order (2002)........................................................................................................................37 3-7. Percentage of total natural enemies sampled in Citra, FL categorized by order (2003)........................................................................................................................38 4-1. Mean plant width (cm) of zucchini in Citra, FL (2003) ............................................47 4-2. Mean plant height (cm) of zucchini in Citra, FL (2003) ...........................................48 vii Abstract of Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science EVALUATION OF LIVING AND SYNTHETIC MULCHES IN ZUCCHINI FOR CONTROL OF HOMOPTERAN PESTS By Daniel L. Frank December 2004 Chair: Oscar Liburd Major Department: Entomology and Nematology Living and synthetic mulches were evaluated for control of the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring) and aphids in zucchini. Two living mulches, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) and white clover (Trifolium repens L.); and two synthetic mulches (reflective and white) were evaluated during fall 2002 and fall 2003. Results from trap and foliar counts showed that reflective and buckwheat mulches consistently had fewer