Fewer Whiteflies Found on CO2-enriched Greenhouse Tomatoes with High C: N Ratios

Abstract

Eight tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cultivars were grown for 16 weeks in greenhouses enriched for an average of 8.1 hours daily to 1000 μl CO /liter of air or in greenhouses maintained at ambient CO. Carbon dioxide enrichment significantly decreased the mean number of greenhouse whiteflies [Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westward), Homoptera: Aleyrodidae] as measured by counts from commercial yellow sticky traps. The number of whiteflies present was negatively correlated with both seasonal foliar C: N ratio and percent C but positively correlated with percent N in the foliage. Thus, CO enrichment apparently alters plant composition in such a way as to reduce significantly the population growth of greenhouse whiteflies.