Population Dynamics of the Cotton Aphid, Aphis gossypii (Homoptera: Aphididae) on Strawberries Grown Under Protected Structure
Abstract
A well developed management plan is in place for control of pests such as the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), in field and greenhouse grown strawberry, Fragaria ananassa Duchesne; however, an integrated pest management approach to control the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii Glover (Homoptera: Aphididae), is not available. In order to initiate an effective program for the cotton aphid, the population dynamics of the aphid and the effectiveness of the pink spotted lady beetle, Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), to control aphids were studied on greenhouse strawberry. Results from this experiment established peaks of aphid infestation throughout the growing season and location of different cotton aphid life forms on the plant. The greatest positive response of the pink spotted lady beetle to cotton aphid occurred at high prey density. This characteristic indicates that the pink spotted lady beetle may be a good candidate for augmentative biological control of cotton aphid on strawberry in the greenhouse. This study provides a basis for developing a biological control of cotton aphid component for an integrated strawberry pest management program.View this article in BioOne
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist is an open access journal. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.
