Control of the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) in greenhouses

Abstract

A formulation based on neem oil (Azadirachta indica), chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), lechuguilla (Agave lechuguilla torrey) and cactus pectin extracts at different concentrations was used in greenhouses to control the whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.).  For moth monitoring, ecological water traps were used to which Noctovi® dipteran pheromones and a food component based on 50% sugar and 20% powdered yeast were added. The work was carried out in six tomato and strawberry production greenhouses located in the city of Durango, in northern Mexico, from August to November 2014. Plant extracts formulated with lechugilla surfactant based on chicalote (Argemone mexicana L.), skunk epazote (Chenopodium glaucum) and higuerilla (Ricinus communis) were used as controls and sprayed at intervals of 15 days each. Field results indicate that the formulation based on neem oil, nopal pectin, chamomile and lechuguilla extracts presented a moth mortality rate of 60% in tomato crops and 62% in strawberry crops.