Using semiochemicals, trap crop and visual cues in a push-pull strategy to control whiteflies on tomato

The Silverleaf whitefly Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a devastating polyphagous pest that poses significant global threats to horticultural crops. Bemisia tabaci feeds on plant sap, secretes honeydew, and serves as a vector of the tomato yellow curl virus (TYLCV), which causes significant economic losses in tomatoes. Dependency on insecticide sprays has resulted in B. tabaci resistance and posed serious environmental and health concerns. Thus, a push-pull system approach to control B. tabaci on tomatoes was developed and included the use of eggplants as a trap crop/ pull component, reflective mulch, limonene, and kaolin clay as push components. Eggplants are highly attractive to whiteflies and are regarded as non-hosts for TYLCV and may reduce whitefly densities on tomatoes. A greenhouse experiment was conducted where eight eggplant varieties were evaluated to determine which of the varieties had the highest attraction rate towards whiteflies. Variables such as adult whitefly, nymph, trichomes, and volatile analysis were analyzed. We found out the eggplant varieties Night Shadow, Nadia, Santana, A1014 Esteral, and Ghost Story were highly preferred by adult whiteflies, while Barbarella was the least preferred. Higher nymph densities were observed on Night Shadow, A1014 Esteral, and Lucilla, whereas lower densities were found on Santana. In the field trial, Night shadow variety was combined with mulch, insecticides, kaolin, and limonene in a push-pull system. Results of the adult whiteflies showed that reflective mulch with insecticide treatment had the lowest whitefly population, while fewer nymphs were observed on the combination of eggplants with insecticide.