Evaluation of snap bean cultivars for Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1) susceptibility and yield performance

The Silverleaf or sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1), is an economically important pest of Snapbean, Phaseolus vulgaris Linnaeus (Fabaceae) in the southern United States. Developing and refining integrated strategies that provide effective control is key to managing this pest. The current study evaluated the whitefly infestation and yield performance of snap bean cultivars (Royal Burgundy, Jade, Golden Rod, Long Tendergreen, PV-857, Momentum, Affirmed, and Tema) in middle Georgia, in fall 2024 in insecticide-treated and untreated fields. Whitefly adult and nymph numbers were recorded weekly from week 4 following seedling emergence to harvest. Yields were measured at harvest. Whitefly adult and nymph numbers peaked during the second week of sampling. Gold Mine had high adult numbers in both fields, while Momentum consistently recorded the lowest. Whitefly adult infestation levels were similar across fields. Nymph numbers showed greater variation, with Sybaris exhibiting 1.6-fold higher numbers in the untreated field. Momentum again showed the lowest nymph numbers, with a 2.4-fold reduction in the treated field. Momentum produced higher yields in both conditions and showed a 2.25-fold increase in the treated field. High temperatures, moderate relative humidity, and low wind speeds positively correlated with whitefly numbers. These findings suggest that selecting less susceptible cultivars like Momentum in addition to targeted insecticide application in an integrated approach can reduce whitefly populations while maintaining high snap bean yields.