Activity Of Natural Enemies Research Articles

Influence of Insecticide Application on Pollinators and Predatory Arthropods in Watermelon Agroecosystem

This study, conducted from January to April 2021 in Kandavara village, Karnataka, examined the effects of various insecticides on honeybees, spiders, and coccinellids in watermelon crops. Using a randomized complete block design, watermelon plants were treated with insecticides when pest populations reached economic thresholds. Honeybee foraging activity and populations of spiders and coccinellids were monitored before treatment and at 3,7 and 10 days post-application. Results showed that untreated control plots consistently had the highest activity of all beneficial insects. Among the insecticides tested, Spinosad 45 SC was the least harmful, with relatively higher levels of honeybee and natural enemy activity. In contrast, Imidacloprid 17.8 SL and Acephate 75 SP were the most detrimental, resulting in significantly lower activity levels for honeybees, spiders, and coccinellids. These findings highlight the importance of selecting insecticides that minimize harm to beneficial insects, emphasizing the need for integrated pest management practices that balance effective pest control with the preservation of essential ecosystem services.

Cereal leaf beetle (Oulema spp.) damage reduces yield and is more severe when natural enemy action is prevented

Insect pests pose a global threat to crop yield. Biological control by natural enemies aims to reduce pest damage in a sustainable way. Cereal leaf beetles (CLB; Oulema spp.) are major pests in small-grain cereals. We studied the effect of natural enemies on CLB damage and its consequences on yield within its native distribution area in Europe. In exclusion cage experiments and by documenting a naturally occurring CLB damage gradient, we found that CLB damage reduced yield, but natural enemy action reduced the damage by CLB. Comparing exclusion and open treatments on artificially CLB-infested plants, plants accessible to natural enemies had 30% less leaf damage. CLB damage significantly affected yield parameters. Thousand grain weight was 22–29% less in maximum leaf damage scenarios. In the damage gradient field, maximal infestation reduced grain yield by 52%. However, maximal damage occurred only on a few plants and over small areas. In natural infestation cases, the number of CLB larvae per plant had a median of zero; nevertheless, there were more than 35 larvae on 10% of the plants. Patchiness explained 40% of CLB damage variance. Damage was unevenly distributed; as a result, thousand grain weight decreased only by 1.6% for 75% of the plants but by 18% for 10% of the plants. In the natural damage gradient, the estimated yield loss for the entire field was 16% due to CLB. Skewed CLB distribution may lead to perceptible yield losses locally, but natural enemies may limit overall damage to the crop.

Circadian pattern in attendance of aphid colonies by ants

Ant-attendance of aphids is one of the subjects of interest in ecological studies as a reciprocal service providing benefits to both groups involved. The behavioural patterns in this relation depend on many factors, e.g. biology of the species involved, aphid host plants, activity of natural enemies and abiotic factors. In this respect, the circadian pattern of ant-attendance was almost unknown. The paper presents the results of the pattern of such circadian activity of ants Lasius niger and L. emarginatus attending six aphid species (Panaphis juglandis, Aphis grossulariae, A. urticata, A. umbrella, Myzus persicae and Aphis fabae) feeding on various types of plants and having various dependence of trophobiosis. The highest number of ant workers in aphid colonies was observed at night and dawn, while the lowest was just after solar noon. The circadian pattern of ant activity strongly depends on the weather, especially temperature and relative humidity, with the highest abundance of ants during humid and cool weather. The possible interconnection between the temperature-dependent activity of ants and the water-dependent physiological condition of certain plants is discussed and indicated as an explanation. The issue of possible work division among ant workers attending aphids as an explanation of the observed pattern of activity remains open.

From weeds to natural enemies: implications of weed cultivation and biopesticides for organic onion production.

Weed management is challenging for vegetable crops that are highly sensitive to weed competition, such as onions. Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) are major insect pests of onions, causing damage through feeding, and vectoring bacterial pathogens causing bulb rot. Both thrips and their associated pathogens are known to survive on many weed species in onion growing regions. Combining weeding with biopesticides may synergistically manage thrips and reduce disease prevalence. However, disturbances from weeding may negatively impact natural enemies. We estimated the effects of organic weed management and biopesticides on weed density, thrips and natural enemy activity, disease severity, and yield. The experiment was a randomized complete block design, with 4 replications of each weeding (control, tine-weeded twice, tine-weeded 4 times, and hand-weeded) and biopesticide (control, OxiDate 2.0, Serenade) combination. Arthropods were monitored using yellow sticky cards, and weed counts, marketable yield, and bulb rot prevalence were estimated. Hand-weeding resulted in the lowest weed density and thrips abundance. Additionally, hand-weeding produced a 9× higher yield compared to all other treatments. Significant interactions were observed between tine-weeding and biopesticide treatments on the prevalence of bulb rot. Natural enemy abundance was slightly negatively impacted by weeding, dependent on the year. DNA metabarcoding results showed high parasitoid diversity in this onion system and high numbers of reads for multiple genera containing important known biological control agents. Our study suggests hand-weeding is necessary in the southeast for maximum onion yield. Future research should focus on exploring the impact of management on natural enemy communities in onion systems on a large scale.

Entomopathogens in the integrated management of forest insects: from science to practice.

The most important aim of the integrated management of forest insect pests remains the prevention of insect outbreaks, which are a consequence of the interaction of many factors in forest ecosystems, including species composition, age and health of the forest, soil type, the presence of natural enemies, and climatic factors. Integrated pest management until now has been achieved using measures aimed at shaping the functioning of stands in a changing environment. The aim of this review is to summarize research on the use of entomopathogens (microorganisms and nematodes) in the management of forest insect pests and to identify the principal knowledge gaps. We briefly describe the main research directions on the use of pathogens and nematodes to control insect pests and discuss limitations affecting their implementation. Research on entomopathogens for the biocontrol of forest insects has provided a wealth of knowledge that can be used effectively to reduce insect populations. Despite this, few entomopathogens are currently used in integrated pest management in forestry. They are applied in inoculation or inundation biocontrol strategies. While the use of entomopathogens in forest pest management shows great promise, practical implementation remains a distant goal. Consequently, sustainable reduction of forest pests, mainly native species, will be largely based on conservation biological control, which aims to modify the environment to favor the activity of natural enemies that regulate pest populations. This type of biocontrol can be supported by a range of silvicultural measures to increase the resilience of stands to insect infestations. © 2023 Society of Chemical Industry.

Ecological engineering in low land rice for brown plant hopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) management.

Rice field bunds and edges can act as near crop habitats, available for planting flowering plants to attract and conserve the natural enemies. We evaluated the effect of ecological engineering on the incidence of Brown Planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)(Hemiptera; Delphacidae) and the abundance of its predators in the rice variety Pusa Basmati-1121. Plots included the oilseed crops viz. sesamum, sunflower and soybean, with plantings of flowering crops marigold, balsam and gaillardia as bund flora around the edges of rice plots. Ecologically engineered plots contained both crops+flowers and resulted in a significantly reduced BPH population per hill in rice plots for 2019 (6.3) and 2020 (9.4) compared to the control plots (9.8 and 14.4). Ecologically engineered plots also witnessed the delayed appearance of BPH during each growing season. Peak BPH populations are lower in the ecologically engineered plots than in the control grounds. Furthermore, the activity of natural enemies, viz., spiders, mirid bugs and rove beetles was the highest in rice fields planted with oilseed crops like sesamum, sunflower and soybean. Olfactory response studies showed that the attraction response of spiders toward sesamum and balsam leaves was more significant than in other crop plants. Rice yield was enhanced in plots planted with crops+flowers during both seasons compared to control plots. Planting of oilseed crops plants such as sesamum, sunflower and soybean with flowering crops such as marigold, balsam and gaillardia as bund flora on the bunds around the main rice field enhanced the natural enemy activity, suppressed the planthopper population, and increased yields. Based on the results, we recommend including ecological engineering techniques as one of the management components in the Integrated Pest Management programme for rice crops.

Automated identification and counting of predated Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) eggs using deep learning image analysis

Predation or kill rate of biological control agents is often used as a proxy to evaluate the efficacy of different species of natural enemies and under different conditions. For generalist predators and many egg parasitoids, eggs of the Mediterranean flour moth Ephestia kuehniella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) are used as factitious prey or hosts in laboratory and field experiments, as they are widely available from mass rearings of the biological control industry. Evaluating the predation or parasitism activity of natural enemies on E. kuehniella is a valuable tool for biological control practitioners around the world. However, manual assessments are laborious and prone to error, as observations may be subjective and depend on the individual performing the task. Here, we developed an automated protocol based on the deep learning object detection algorithm YOLOv5, for the accurate estimation of predated E. kuehniella eggs by piercing-sucking generalist predators. The application of the trained deep learning model achieved high precision (0.90) and recall (0.93) in the identification of predated eggs among intact eggs in our test experiment and was more accurate and faster than two independent observers that performed manual counting under a stereo microscope based on the mean absolute percentage error metric. Furthermore, a case study is presented where the predation activity of the generalist predators Orius laevigatus, Orius majusculus, Orius minutus, Nesidiocoris tenuis, Macrolophus pygmaeus, and Dicyphus errans is compared. Further applications and expansions of the protocol are discussed.

BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AND ANTAGONISTIC ACTIVITY OF NATURAL ENEMIES AGAINST, PAPILIO DEMOLEUS AT SAHATI REGION OF SINDH - PAKISTAN

The swallowtail butterfly is the widespread vigorous destructive pest of new growing green leaves of Citrus limon, the different species of predators and parasitoids on major pests were observed field and laboratory conditions during, 2022. The overall population of LBF was recorded (26.23±5.12) on C. limon leaves and the natural enemies were also observed namely; Peucetia viridans consequent to Cheiracanthium punctorium, Halyomorpha halys, Agelenopsis sp., Delta pyriforme (0.13±0.36), Geocoris punctipes (0.14±0.37), Aculepeira ceropegia (0.10±0.31), Menochilus sexmaculatus (0.12±0.34), Coccinella septempunctata (0.17±0.40), Brumus sp., (0.12±0.34), and ectoparasitiods; Tamarixia radiata (0.28±0.52), Tetrastichus sp., (0.30±0.54). The overall parasitiods population of eggs (11.44±2.00), larvae (6.98±1.22), and pupae (4.27±0.80), hence; the egg parasitoids; Telenomus sp., (0.11±0.33), and Ooencyrtus papilions (0.10±0.32), the larvae parasitoids, Distatrix papilionis (0.13±0.36), Apanteles papilions (0.09±0.30), and pupae parasitoids, Pteromalus puparum (0.10±0.32) were reported and found with differences in population occurrences. Thus; it is further recommended to keep toxic insecticides free lemon orchards and enhance the activity of natural enemies to reduce the pest population under field conditions.

Enhancing biocontrol potential of Trichogramma chilonis against borer pests of wheat and chickpea

Communication between plants and herbivores occur mostly through chemicals. Plants emit volatiles in response to the attack of herbivores called herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs), which are employed by the plants to attract their herbivores' natural enemies. Promising HIPVs when used in the form of controlled release formulations under field conditions can act as arrestants of released or wild population of parasitoids to spend comparatively more time in searching of various stages of herbivores; thus management of crop pests is enhanced. Gel formulation of octadecane (Saturated hydrocarbon) when applied 24h after release of Trichogramma chilonis in wheat and chickpea enhanced the foraging activity against pink stem borer (Sesamia inferens) and pod borer (Helicoverpa armigera), respectively resulting in reduced symptoms and increased grain yields. Controlled release formulations of promising plant volatile organic compounds (pVOCs) can be useful to augment and enhance foraging activity of natural enemies against crop herbivores.

Prospects for increasing the resolution of crop diversity for agroecosystem service delivery in a Dutch arable system

Finding a balance between the agroecological benefits of in-field crop diversification and the associated management demands, while maintaining expected production levels, is essential for making crop diversity work for farmers. The aim of this study was to find a workable resolution of diversity within the context of an on-station organic arable cropping systems experiment in the Netherlands. The experiment tested a gradient of crop diversity treatments from sole-crop references to strip cropping (3 m x 54 m strips sown in adjacent crop pairs of varying complexity) and pixel cropping (0.25 m2 plots each sown with one out of six total crops and arranged in 7.5 m x 12 m grids). In these treatments we assessed the performance of multiple agroecosystem service (AES) indicators (soil fertility, crop yield and quality, weed cover and diversity, and natural enemy activity density) for three focal crops (cabbage, wheat, and potato) using three years of field data and a three-part analysis. First, we used linear mixed models to assess the effects of each diversification treatment on the AES indicators. We found no clear indication that one treatment performed better than the rest across AES indicators. Second, we developed a novel method for quantifying the temporal, spatial, and genetic structural diversity of the tested treatments into compound diversity scores, and used these scores to analyze response relationships between increasing in-field diversity and AES delivery. Here we found that increasing compound diversity had a positive effect on the indicators weed species diversity and natural enemy activity density. For production indicators, we observed an inflection point between the most diverse strip cropping treatment and the pixel cropping treatment, with pixel cropping performing notably poorly. Third, we used a multivariate analysis approach to assess the contribution of temporal, spatial, and genetic diversity to AES delivery, but found no clear effects of individual diversity dimensions on AES delivery. These findings suggest that prospects for strip cropping are better than for pixel cropping when it comes to balancing production aims with increases in other AES while also maintaining management feasibility. Reconciling management shortcomings in highly diverse cropping systems (e.g. through the development of appropriate technologies) may be one way to mitigate trade-offs between ecological and production aims at resolutions of diversity higher than strip cropping.

Insects and mites associated with pepper. How much diversity can be observed in a crop?

The pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is a vegetable with the highest consumption worldwide, since its fruits are rich in fiber, vitamins A and C, antioxidants and can be marketed fresh or processed. Currently there is a decrease in production, due to the appearance of phytosanitary problems that occur throughout the phenological cycle. The fundamental basis of an integrated pest management program is the knowledge of the arthropods associated with a crop. The objective of this work was the study of arthropod pests and natural enemies present in a pepper plot of 1000 m2. During August 2021 - January 2022, weekly leaf sampling was carried out to identify the taxa present. A total of 1485 arthropod specimens were observed during the study, represented by 61.5% natural enemies and 38% phytophagous. The identification of pest arthropods represents the first phase to consecutively evaluate the magnitude of their damage in combination with the action of natural enemies to define their importance as biological regulation agents.

Aphid suppression by natural enemies in hedgerows surrounding greenhouses in southern Spain

Southern Spain is home to the most intensively grown protected crop area in the EU. The area is currently characterized by greenhouse monocultures and a homogenous landscape. The establishment of hedgerows among greenhouses can enhance the diversity of natural enemies of pests around the greenhouses and help them thrive. However, the effect of hedgerows on pest control has not been addressed. Thus, we used aphid banker plants, i.e. wheat infested with Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), as sentinel plants in the surroundings of three paired greenhouses with and without hedgerows. We assessed the effect of hedgerows on the abundance of aphids and arthropod community populations. In addition, we assessed the importance of the surrounding environment on aphid survival. There were 4.1-fold more aphids on sentinel plants excluded from the action of natural enemies than ones exposed to them, showing that biological control occurs naturally even in a simplified greenhouse agrosystem. Aphid populations were slightly higher (albeit not significantly) in replicates without hedgerows than in those with hedgerows. The percentage of greenhouses, rather than hedgerows, was an essential factor in suppressing aphids, highlighting the importance of using commercial biological control in greenhouses. The presence of hedgerows resulted in changes in arthropod composition populations, i.e. in a lower occurrence of pests and a higher occurrence of natural enemies, especially in the most simplified replicate. We propose increasing the amount of hedgerows for reducing pressure from pests on simplified greenhouse agrosystems.

Impact of covert infections with an RNA virus on the susceptibility of Spodoptera exigua to natural enemies

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs are alternatives to classical pest control through the application of chemical insecticides. IPM goal is to maintain pest populations below economically injurious levels minimizing the use of chemical insecticides. In recent years, research on insect viromes has led to the discovery of many novel viral pathogens in insect pests, some of them producing covert infections that do not cause evident symptoms. However, the impact that these viruses have on the action of natural enemies employed in IPM programs is still unknown. Spodoptera exigua iflavirus 1 (SeIV1) is an RNA virus commonly found in field populations of Spodoptera exigua. In this work, we have analysed the possible impact of those viral infections on the activity of different natural enemies used for the control of this pest. Specifically, we have studied the effects of SeIV1 on susceptibility to entomopathogenic nematodes, fungi, bacteria, and parasitoids. Infections with SeIV1 showed to be compatible with the nematode Steinernema carpocapsae as the infection did not affect the susceptibility or production of new juveniles. Moreover, they are also compatible with the fungus Metarhizium brunneum as the mortality of S. exigua larvae was not affected by the viral infection. Interestingly, infections with SeIV1 increase the susceptibility to Bacillus thuringiensis formulation and increase the mortality caused by the parasitism of Hyposoter didymator. In summary, our results show that the four natural enemies tested are not negatively affected by SeIV1 and their action remains similar or enhanced by the covert infections with this iflavirus.

Archetype models upscale understanding of natural pest control response to land-use change.

Control of crop pests by shifting host plant availability and natural enemy activity at landscape scales has great potential to enhance the sustainability of agriculture. However, mainstreaming natural pest control requires improved understanding of how its benefits can be realized across a variety of agroecological contexts. Empirical studies suggest significant but highly variable responses of natural pest control to land-use change. Current ecological models are either too specific to provide insight across agroecosystems or too generic to guide management with actionable predictions. We suggest obtaining the full benefit of available empirical, theoretical, and methodological knowledge by combining trait-mediated understanding from correlative studies with the explicit representation of causal relationships achieved by mechanistic modeling. To link these frameworks, we adapt the concept of archetypes, or context-specific generalizations, from sustainability science. Similar responses of natural pest control to land-use gradients across cases that share key attributes, such as functional traits of focal organisms, indicate general processes that drive system behavior in a context-sensitive manner. Based on such observations of natural pest control, a systematic definition of archetypes can provide the basis for mechanistic models of intermediate generality that cover all major agroecosystems worldwide. Example applications demonstrate the potential for upscaling understanding and improving predictions of natural pest control, based on knowledge transfer and scientific synthesis. A broader application of this mechanistic archetype approach promises to enhance ecology's contribution to natural resource management across diverse regions and social-ecological contexts.

Natural Enemies, Mediated by Landscape and Weather Conditions, Shape Response of the Sorghum Agroecosystem of North America to the Invasive Aphid Melanaphis sorghi.

The sorghum (Sorghum bicolor [L.]) agroecosystem of North America provided an opportunity to evaluate agroecosystem response to an invading insect herbivore, Melanaphis sorghi (Theobald) (sorghum aphid) (previously published as Melanaphis sacchari Zehntner) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) onto a widely planted crop that experiences a range of agro-landscape and weather conditions. Initial sorghum risk assessments after M. sorghi's invasion in the mid-2010s provided forecasts of range expansion and annual migration, which were based on aphid life history, extent of sorghum cultivation and susceptibility to M. sorghi, and weather (aphid-plant-weather [APW] risk scenario). A more comprehensive risk assessment proposed here brings top-down forces of M. sorghi-natural enemy interactions to the forefront as mediated by agro-landscape and weather conditions (aphid-enemy/landscape-weather mediated [AE/LW] risk scenario). A hypothesis of regional differences in aphids and natural enemies and sensitivity to agro-landscape and weather was tested using empirical data of insect, landscape, and weather data across 5 years and four regions (two in the U.S. Great Plains [South GP and North GP], one farther south (South), and one in the southeast U.S. [South E]). Natural enemies were widespread with two parasitoids and four coccinellid species common across regions, but regional variation in M. sorghi and natural enemy abundance was detected. The AE/LW risk scenario accounted for natural enemy abundance and activity that was highest in the South region, functioned well across agro-landscape and weather conditions, and was accompanied by average low M. sorghi abundance (~23 M. sorghi per leaf). Positive correlations of natural enemy-M. sorghi abundance also occurred in the South GP region where M. sorghi abundance was low (~20 M. sorghi per leaf), and selected natural enemy activity appeared to be mediated by landscape composition. Melanaphis sorghi abundance was highest in the South E region (~136 aphids/leaf) where natural enemy activity was low and influenced by weather. The AE/LW risk scenario appeared suited, and essential in the South region, in assessing risk on a regional scale, and sets the stage for further modeling to generate estimates of the degree of influence of natural enemies under varying agro-landscape and weather conditions considered in the AE/LW risk scenario. Broadly, these findings are relevant in understanding agroecosystem resilience and recommending supportive management inputs in response to insect invasions in context of natural enemy activity and varied environmental conditions.

Effect of companion cropping on pest damage and natural enemy activity in mustard ecosystem

Effect of companion cropping on pest damage and natural enemy activity in mustard ecosystem

Effect of Ecological Engineering on Incidence of Key Rice Pests

Incidence of rice pests like white backed planthopper (WBPH) Sogatella furcifera, leaf folder Cnaphalocrocis medinalis, whorl maggot Hydrellia sasakii and stem borers - yellow stem borer Scirpophaga incertulas and the pink stem borer Sesamia inferens were studied in ecologically engineered rice fields during kharif 2019 and 2020. The WBPH population significantly reduced in fields planted with mixture of crop and flowering plants (0.66 ± 0.25 and 0.83 ± 0.44 WBPH/hill) during kharif 2019 and 2020, respectively. Rice plots planted with crops and flowering plants had lowest leaf folder damage in both the seasons (0.64 ± 0.11% and 0.54 ± 0.35%). Similarly, whorl maggot damage in mixture of crop and flowering plants found significantly reduced than control plots in both the seasons. Reduced pest activity in ecologically engineered fields significantly increased rice yield, particularly in rice plots planted with crops and flowering plants (5.60 ± 0.24 and 5.27 ± 0.06 mt/ ha). Study revealed that planting of crop and flowering plants around the rice field increased the natural enemy activity and reduced incidence of rice pests which eventually reduced the yield losses caused by insect pests and increased the rice grain yield.

Population Dynamics of Fall Armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) on Sorghum

The study on seasonal incidence of fall armyworm was carried out during kharif, 2019 at Agricultural college farm, Bapatla. The oviposition of fall armyworm was observed from 34th SMW (Standard Meterological Week) and reached its peak during 40th SMW (0.03 egg masses plant-1). The larval population of fall armyworm was commenced during 35th SMW and increased gradually to a peak of 1.67 larvae plant-1 during 41st SMW. The maximum plant infestation (60.00%) and leaf damage severity rating (3.13) of fall armyworm was observed during 41st SMW. The peak activity of natural enemies was observed during 41st SMW which coincides with the larval population of fall armyworm. The correlation analysis indicated that eggmasses of fall armyworm was positively correlated with minimum temperature(r= 0.668) and wind speed (r= 0.529) while, the larval population showed significant positive correlation with maximum temperature (r= 0.029). The plant infestation caused by fall armyworm had shown significant negative correlation with maximum temperature (r= -0.633) and positive correlation with morning relative humidity (r= 0.678) and evening relative humidity (r= 0.664) whereas, the leaf damage severity rating exhibited significant positive correlation with evening relative humidity (r= 0.691). The multiple regression analysis revealed that the influence of weather parameters on the incidence of fall armyworm and natural enemies in sorghum ecosystem was more than 65% and 40%, respectively.

Effect of Farming Systems on Diversity and Seasonal Abundance of Insect Pests and their Natural Enemiesin Cauliflower

A study was conducted on effect of two farming systems namely zero budget natural farming (ZBNF) and conventional farming (CF) on diversity and seasonal abundance of insect pests of cauliflower and their natural enemies during 2018-19 and 2019-20. Studies revealed that ZBNF system harboured less pest diversity and attracted more natural enemies as compared to the CF system. Natural enemy activity and % parasitisation were maximum in ZBNF system as compared to CF system. The results indicate that indigenous ZBNF formulations and intercropping have a positive effect on the population of natural enemies and repelled the insect pests much better as compared to CF system.

Evaluation of Insect Growth Regulators Against Leafhoppers and Whiteflies in BT Cotton

Studies were conducted to evaluate efficacy of insect growth regulators against leafhoppers Amrasca (Sundapteryx) biguttula, and whiteflies Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) on cotton at the Department of Entomology, Dr. PDKV, Akola during 2019-2020. Overall four sprays were given out and the data obtained revealed that buprofezin 25%SC was found promising against leafhopper population. However, this treatment was found statistically similar to pyriproxyfen 10%EC and buprofezin 25%SC + NSKE 5%. The application of pyriproxyfen 10%EC, pyriproxyfen 10%EC + NSKE 5% and buprofezin 25%SC proved statistically equal in reducing whiteflies population. The treatments were found to be safe to the natural enemy activity. The highest seed cotton yield was obtained in the plots sprayed with buprofezin 25%SC (13.40 q/ha).