Lethal high temperatures for the sweetpotato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) B biotype) and control effects under greenhouse conditions using solar radiation

Abstract

The lethal effect of temperatures of 25, 40, 45, and 50°C on adult and immature stages of the sweetpotato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) B biotype) was examined under laboratory conditions. For all developmental stages, mortality increased as the temperature increased. At 50°C, all adults died within 0.5 h. Similarly, all pupae and larvae died within 7 and 5 h, respectively. The lethal effect of high temperature was also investigated in a greenhouse in which high temperatures were generated from solar radiation by covering the entire greenhouse with vinyl film for a certain period after uprooting all the plants (tomato) in the greenhouse. By the third day of treatment, no adult whitefly was caught in the sticky traps in the greenhouse. This result indicates that high temperatures generated by solar radiation in a closed greenhouse effectively reduce the population density of the sweetpotato whitefly.