Pest management and pollination of cantaloupes grown under spunbonded row covers in West Africa

Abstract

SummaryCantaloupe is non parthenocarpic and requires insects for pollination. However, it is severely affected by sap-sucking insects, the viruses they vector, and cucurbit fruit flies throughout West Africa. Our study was conducted in Senegal to evaluate spunbonded row cover as an integrated production tool with special reference to pest management and pollination. We used an andromonoecious cultivar and compared an open treatment with four cover treatments. In the first two treatments, the covers were removed at the onset of fruiting to allow open pollination. The fabric was laid directly on the plants in one treatment and arranged in small tunnels in the other. In the other two treatments, small tunnels of fabric were maintained over the plants for 20 d after the onset of fruiting. In one, an end of the tunnel was cut open to allow open pollination while in the last treatment, the tunnel was kept closed and pollination was provided by a colony of African honey bees in a multiple-entrance hive. All plants were sprayed with fungicides as needed, but only the plants in the open or those with the cover removed were treated with insecticides. Honey bees foraged in all plots and pollination was not a limiting factor in any of the treatments. Chemical applications alone provided poor protection and yielded an average of 0.18 kg of export-grade fruit per plant. Removal of the covers at the onset of fruiting resulted in severe insect damage and plant losses regardless of the layout of the cover and the final yield of export-grade fruit was 0.40 kg per plant. Tunnels with the opening at one end allowed adequate open pollination while maintaining a significant level of protection from insect pests and gave a yield of 0.56 kg of export-grade fruit per plant. The closed tunnels with beehives gave the best results from the standpoint of plant growth and development as well as a yield of export-grade fruit of 0.97 kg per plant.