Journal of Pest Science (2014) 87, 639-645

Patrícia L. Cruz, Edson L.L. Baldin and Maria de Jesus P. de Castro (2014)
Characterization of antibiosis to the silverleaf whitefly Bemisia tabaci biotype B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in cowpea entries
Journal of Pest Science 87 (4), 639-645
Abstract: The silverleaf whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is considered one of the most important pests of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.), limiting the productivity of this crop worldwide. Chemical control is still the main strategy for the management of populations of this insect. However, due to the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment and to humans, less injurious alternatives have been investigated. Along this line, the use of resistant genotypes can be a valuable tool for the control of the silverleaf whitefly. In this paper, we investigate some biological aspects of B. tabaci biotype B confined on 14 genotypes of cowpea. We evaluated the incubation period, egg viability, duration of nymphal stages, total duration of the juvenile phase, instar mortality and total mortality of the immature stage. The genotype MNC 99-541 F21 exhibited antibiosis against the whitefly, prolonging the lifecycle of the insect. The genotypes Canapu, BRS-Urubuquara and TE97-304 G-4 also exhibited antibiosis, causing high nymphal mortality. These results may help in breeding programmes to develop cowpea lines with resistance to B. tabaci biotype B.
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Link to article at publishers website

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bemisia tabaci biotype B	Cowpea and relatives (Vigna)
	Bemisia tabaci	Cowpea and relatives (Vigna)