Susceptibility to leaf silvering in the cultivar groups of summer squash

Abstract

Summer squash (Cucurbita pepo) cultivars, three from each of the six cultivar groups, were grown under field and greenhouse conditions at Fort Pierce, Florida, U.S.A. in the presence of sweetpotato whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci) and observed for severity of leaf silvering. All cultivars were affected by leaf silvering, but some had less severe symptoms than others. The cocozelle group was the least susceptible to silvering. There appeared to be an association between geographic origin of cultivars and their susceptibility to silvering.