011 Reflective Mulches and Yellow Sticky Tape Control Whiteflies in Greenhouse Poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima)

Abstract

Greenhouse Whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) and Silverleaf Whitefly (Bemisia argentifolii) are the most serious insect pests of poinsettia. Most growers rely on the use of foliar insecticide applications before bract coloring and an application of a single soil application of imidicloprid (Marathon) subsequently. This research was undertaken to investigate the use of reflective mulches or bench covers, which have been shown to be effective in outdoor applications for control of whitefly in the greenhouse. In an early trial, silver painted pot spacers and silver polyethylene mulch were placed between pots and both nymphs on leaves and adults caught on yellow sticky cards were monitored. Nymph populations were reduced by ≈35% and adults caught on sticky cards increased by ≈40% when compared with the control. In a subsequent trial, reflective bench covers were combined with the use of yellow sticky tape placed above the canopy of the crop and compared with sticky tape alone, reflective mulch alone, and no treatment. The combination of sticky tape and reflective mulch significantly reduced whitefly populations after 6 weeks and performed better than either of the other treatments alone.