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Bemisia tabaci population density dependent on tomato rootstock

The tobacco whitefly Bemisia tabaci is among the most damaging pests in greenhouse production of tomatoes. Insecticide resistance management of B. tabaci requires continuous improvement of non-chemical methods for pest control. The goal of this study was to test the effects of scion and rootstock cultivars on the population densities of B. tabaci adult and large nymphs (4th instar to pupae), in a hydroponically grown tomato crop. The experiment was conducted using tomato cultivars ‘Clarabella’ and ‘Estatio’ during the spring-summer season. The tomato plants were non-grafted, self-grafted or grafted onto the rootstocks of ‘Arnold’, ‘Buffon’, ‘Emperador’, and ‘Maxifort’. A two-factorial experimental design was applied. Initially, 3 days after infestation (DAI), the scion of ‘Estatio’ was more attractive to adults of B. tabaci, while 6 DAI, this difference was no longer apparent. For both assessments, the number of pest adult individuals was lower when scions were grafted onto tested rootstocks. Thus, plants of non-grafted or self-grafted ‘Clarabella’ and ‘Estatio’ were more infested than the plants grafted onto the rootstocks. The density of large nymphs was higher on ‘Estatio’ than on ‘Clarabella’ at 54 DAI, while such a difference was not observed at 35 and 77 DAI. In terms of the rootstock effect, tomato grafting onto commercial rootstocks reduced nymphal populations in all three assessment periods. The differences among the rootstocks for nymphal population density were not confirmed. The results indicated that grafting tomato plants could be included in an integrated management strategy for B. tabaci.

cultivar, grafting, IPM, Solanum lycopersicum, tobacco whitefly

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