Abstract
This laboratory study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of two biological agents Beauveria bassiana (Bals) and Bacillus thuringiensis (Kursaki) and four chemical pesticides Levo 2.4 SL, Aster 20 SL, Difuse 450 SC, and Matrixine Plus EC on four important main pests that infect tomato plants. The pests studied were whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Meyrick Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), Sulzer Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Koch Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetraanychidae). The results show that the pesticide Matrixine Plus recorded the highest average of mortality of both larval and adult stages of all four pests. The average of mortality for adults and larvae of whitefly were 96.67% and 86.67% respectively. The average of mortality for adults and larvae of Meyrick was 93.33% for both stages, while the percentages for adults and larvae of Sulzer and Kotch were 96.67% respectively after seven days of exposure. The lowest averages of mortality were recorded for Antario on whitefly adults and for Difuse on whitefly (both (16.67%). Difuse caused the lowest average of mortality (26.67%) on Meyrick adults, whereas Antario caused the lowest average of mortality of 20% on Meyrick larvae. The results show also that Antario caused the lowest average of mortality of 23.33% on adults and 16.67% on larvae. Similarly, Difuse was recorded the lowest average of 20% on adults while Antario caused the lowest average of mortality of 26.67% on larvae after one day of treatment.
Highlights
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) belongs to the Solanaceae family
Various agricultural pests infect the plant during their growing season such as the whitefly insect Bemisia tabaci (B. tabaci), the tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta (T. absoluta), the green peach aphids Myzus persicae (M. persicae) and the red spider mite Tetranychus urticae ( T. urticae ) [3]
The highest death percentage of 74.4% was caused by exposure to Aster; this did not differ significantly from the death percentage of 72.2% caused by Matrixine Plus
Summary
Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) belongs to the Solanaceae family. The species originated form the western coastal part of the South American continent. In 2018, Iraq’s production of tomato crop was around 467.600 thousand tons. Chemical pesticides have been widely used to control these pests. It has been found that such control can cause undesirable consequences such as the rapid development of the resistance of large numbers of pesticide including organophosphates, carbamates and pyrethroid. The negative impact of pesticides on farming, it has a crucial role in controlling pests and increasing crop yields. Many researchers have tended to find other alternatives to control the number of pests without causing environmental pollution such as biological control. The biological control agents Bacillus thuringiensis and Beauveria bassiana that are known for their efficacy in controlling many pests due to the ease of isolation and the rapid growth [5]. The present study has been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of some chemical pesticides and biological control on compacting tomato crop pests
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