BACKGROUND In precision integrated pest management, management tactics are implemented only where and when needed, by identifying the sites where the pest population has reached economic thresholds. Tomato, Solanum lycopersicum (Linn.), is a vegetable cultivated worldwide, but its production is reduced by insect pests such as the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.). To improve management, there is a need to understand B. tabaci spatial dynamics in tomato fields, which will elucidate colonization patterns and may improve management of this pest. Thus, this study was conducted to assess the spatial autocorrelation, distribution, and colonization patterns of B. tabaci in 19 commercial tomato fields through the growing season. RESULTS A total of 69 isotropic variograms were fit for B. tabaci. The insect distribution was aggregated with a strong level of spatial dependence. Ranges of spatial dependence varied from 0.53 to 19.05 m and 0.5 to 20 m for adults and nymphs, respectively. Overall, densities of adults and nymphs were higher and reached the economic threshold mainly at the field edges. CONCLUSION Our results suggest a colonization pattern for B. tabaci starting at the edges and spreading inwards in to the tomato fields. This study can improve B. tabaci management in tomato fields, especially scouting and decision‐making to treat fields. Scouting for this pest should be directed to the field edges, with sample points at least 20 m apart from each other for independent insect counts. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

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Most of the insecticides efficiently controlled the brassica caterpillar, but not all exhibited selectivity to the predator. Therefore, due to the distinctive responses of organisms with respect to residual periods of control and the impact of the insecticides, spraying frequency must be strongly considered in integrated pest management programs. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Among the tested compounds, only compounds 1 and 6 were effective in melonworm control. Both compounds presented no considerable phytotoxicity and were selective to predator but non-selective to pollinator, which enables their application for pest control if the exposure of the bees is minimised. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

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The tomato pinworm Tuta absoluta (Lepidoptera: Gelechuidae) is native to South America and has now become the main tomato pest in Europe, Africa and Asia. The wide range of host plants attacked by this pest has been reported as one of the main reasons for the success of this important insect species. However, the information currently available on the biological performance of T. absoluta on Solanaceae has been obtained from a limited number of host species. The Solanaceae family is composed of thousands of species, many of which are potential hosts for T. absoluta. Our results showed that the highest oviposition rates occurred on cultivated tomato plants, potato and wild tomato. The lowest rates occurred on “gilo”, “jurubeba”, green pepper and pepper. The highest survival rates of the immature stages occurred on potato and the lowest on pepper, green pepper and “jurubeba”. Female fertility, following infestation of the different plant species, was highest for insects that developed on tomato or potato and the lowest rates were seen on American black nightshade. The net reproductive rate and the intrinsic growth rate were highest on potato and tomato. Cluster analysis grouped tomato and potato as highly susceptible to attack, American black nightshade, juá, eggplant, gilo and wild tomato as moderately susceptible, whilst pepper, green pepper and jurubeba were categorized as resistant to T. absoluta. These results clearly demonstrate that the choice of solanaceous host plant species has a direct impact on the fitness parameters of the tomato pinworm as well as survival potential, dispersion and establishment at new sites. These results are important for the planning of integrated pest management strategies.

Natural mortality factors are responsible for regulating pest populations in the field. However, plant attributes such as the variety and phenological stage can influence the performance of these factors. Therefore, we investigated the performance of the natural mortality factors of Aphis gossypii (Glover; Hemiptera: Aphididae) as a function of the plant variety and phenology. To investigate the performance of these factors, we evaluated the mortality of A. gossypii caused by natural mortality factors for 2 yr in field conditions in transgenic (Bacillus thuringiensis/Roundup Ready) and non-transgenic cotton crops during vegetative, flowering, and fruiting stages. The natural mortality factors were affected similarly between the transgenic and non-transgenic plants; however, differences were observed in their performance, depending on the phenological stage of the cotton plant. Compared with other stages, predation was higher in the flowering stage, whereas the mortality caused by rainfall was higher in the vegetative stage. Coccinellid beetles were primarily responsible for the predation on A. gossypii. These findings highlight that the performance of the natural mortality factors of A. gossypii varied more as a function of the phenological stage of cotton than of the variety.