CONTROL OF WHITEFLIES AND MEALYBUGS ON POINSETTIAS, 2008

This greenhouse trial was conducted at the R. R. Foil Plant Science Research Center at Mississippi State University, with the first treatment (T1) applied on 18 Apr. Plants were grown in six inch pots, one plant per pot, using standard horticultural practices and hand watered daily. The trial was conducted as a CRD with six replications, with individual plants as experimental units. Foliar spray treatments were applied using a CO2 sprayer through a single 8002VS flat-fan nozzle at 30 PSI, spraying to wet foliage, including undersides of leaves. The Azatin XL treatment was applied five times at weekly intervals, while the Safari drench was only applied once, at T1. All other treatments were applied twice, at T1 and 14 DAT1. Treatments were rated by pulling two leaves from the lower half of each plant and counting the number of immature SWFb and CMB per leaf using a dissecting microscope. Pre-treatment counts averaged 3.7 adult and 3.0 immature SWFb per two leaves. A sample of whiteflies collected from the trial was identified as 100% biotype B Bemesia tabaci by Dr. Frank Byrne, Univ. Calif. Riverside. Data were transformed as {log10 (x+1)} before analysis by ANOVA, using Tukey’s HSD (P < 0.1) for means separation.