Bemisia argentifolii (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) Honeydew Sugars and Relationships to Sticky Cotton

Abstract

Trehalulose and melezitose produced by Bemisia argentifolii Bellows & Perring accumulated in cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., lint in open cotton bolls on plants and on lint on harvested bolls in trays suspended in infested plants. Amounts accumulated were correlated positively to increasing numbers of exposure days. Fructose, glucose, and total reducing sugars increased but results were variable, probably because these sugars, although found in Bemisia honeydew, also normally occur in cotton lint. Minicard sticky cotton ratings were correlated positively to increased amounts of all sugars tested. Rainfall (4.8 cm in a 48-h period) reduced amounts of all sugars and minicard sticky cotton ratings. Accumulated sugars and minicard sticky cotton ratings were reduced in insecticide-treated compared with untreated fields. Trehalulose, melezitose, fructose, and glucose that accumulated on clear plastic-wrapped styrofoam balls were correlated positively to exposure time in B. argentifolii infested cotton fields. Amounts of all sugars, in general, were higher in clear plastic-wrapped balls placed at the middle and bottom of the plant as compared with the top of the plant. Amounts of trehalulose, melezitose, and fructose, but not glucose, were significantly higher on lint from bolls at plant nodes 9-14 as compared with nodes 15-20.