Comparative Efficacy and Selectivity of Acetamiprid for the Management of Bemisia tabaci

Abstract

The integrated control concept emphasizes the importance of both chemical and biological control for pest suppression in an agricultural system. A two-year field study was conducted to evaluate the selectivity of acetamiprid for controlling sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, in cotton compared with a proven selective regime based on insect growth regulators (IGRs) of pyriproxyfen and buprofezin. Acetamiprid was highly effective in controlling all stages of B. tabaci compared to our untreated control and generally produced lower pest densities than the IGR regime. However, six of 14 taxa of arthropod predator were significantly depressed with the use of acetamiprid compared to our untreated control, including common species such as Geocoris punctipes, Orius tristicolor, Chrysoperla carnea, Collops vittatus, Hippodamia convergens, and Drapetis nr. divergens. Compared to other independent and concurrent studies using mixtures of broad-spectrum insecticides at the same research site, acetamiprid depressed fewer populations of predator taxa in our study, but for those taxa affected, reductions from acetamiprid were larger in many cases. In contrast, only one species was significantly reduced in the IGR regime compared with the untreated control. Predator:prey ratios were generally depressed with the use of acetamiprid compared with both the IGR and untreated control regimes. Parasitism by aphelinid parasitoids was unaffected or depressed slightly in all insecticide regimes compared with the control. Although highly efficacious for whitefly control, our results suggest that acetamiprid is a poor substitute for IGRs currently used in an integrated control program for B. tabaci in cotton.