Recent research shows the use of biological controls, along with scouting, can be an important part of a grower’s whitefly management program. Whiteflies are a common annual pest of ornamentals,
and with the growth of insecticide-resistant species,
retailer restrictions on specific insecticides, and increasing
regulations on pesticide applicators, management of
whiteflies are not getting any easier. Therefore, this study
focuses on the effectiveness of biological controls.
Results
In commercial-scale trials at three grower locations in 2019, they released E. eremicus weekly and releases of A. swirskii every four weeks. They were ultimately able to provide similar whitefly
densities in the biologically controlled greenhouses as the conventional insecticide greenhouses and within the densities found at retailers. Economics of biological control was comparable to
conventional insecticides, costing anywhere between 0.6 to three-fold the cost of the greenhouse’s management with conventional insecticide rotations. One of the reasons for this discrepancy in cost
was related to the valuable information gathered through monitoring; growers had accurate and timely monitoring data available to them, and as a result, drastically reduced insecticidal applications in
the conventional insecticide greenhouses due to low whitefly pressure.
The study is conducted by Dr. Erfan K. Vafaie and Dr. Kevin M. Heinz.
To read the full study, go to www.endowment.org.
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