Deposition and Efficacy of Capture and Thiodan Applied to Melons Using Several Application Technologies

Abstract

A study was conducted in 1995 to evaluate five application technologies in the field in terms of deposition efficiency, as well as to assess their abilities to control the sweet potato whitefly and thereby influence crop yield. The FMC and ESS-on treatments provided the greatest deposition on the ventral side of the leaves. The FMC system tended to maintain high ventral deposition efficiencies as the plants grew and the canopy closed, whereas the efficiency of the ESS declined. Differences in ventral deposition efficiency among treatments were not closely associated with differences in whitefly control, although the declining rate of ventral deposition for the ESS-on is also reflected in its declining superiority in adult insect control relative to the CDA and conventional systems. The ESS sprayer provided somewhat better whitefly control than the conventional treatment, and was also associated with a higher yield of #12 melons than the control and Admire treatments, but not better than the conventional treatment. Early control of adults was associated with reduced egg counts later in the season, suggesting that there may be long term control advantages with the ESS system. New application technologies need to be developed to obtain higher ventral deposition and maximum whitefly control, with minimum use of insecticides.