Sequential Sampling Plan for Aphis gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae) based on Its Intra-plant Distribution Patterns in Greenhouse Cucumber at Different Growth Stages

Abstract

This study describes the development of a method for monitoring Aphis gossypii in greenhouse cucumber fields that was used during 2013 and 2014. The dispersion pattern of A. gossypii was determined by commonly used methods: Taylor's power law (TPL) and Iwao's patchiness regression (IPR). The sample unit was determined by linear regression analysis between mean density of sample unit versus whole plant. The optimum sample unit for different plant growth stages was two leaves (median and the lowest + 1 leaf) when the total number of leaves was less than nine, and three leaves (4th, 7th from canopy, and the lowest +1 leaf) when the total number of leaves was greater than nine. A. gossypii showed an aggregated distribution pattern, as the slopes of both TPL and IPR lines were greater than 1. TPL provided a better description of the mean-variance relationship than did IPR. The slopes and intercepts of TPL and IPR from leaf samples did not differ between the surveyed years. Fixed precision levels (D) for a sequential sampling plan were developed using Green's and Kuno's equations based on the number of aphid in a leaf sample. Green's method was more efficient than Kuno's to stop sampling. The number of samples needed to estimate the density of A. gossypii increased at higher D levels and lower mean densities. The cumulative number of aphids needed to stop sampling increased at higher D levels and with fewer plants sampled. Thus to estimate 10 aphids per leaf, 13 plants needed to be sampled, and the cumulative number of aphids to stop sampling was 131.