| Abstrakt: |
Simple Summary: The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius Middle East–Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1), is an economically important vegetable worldwide. This study evaluated the susceptibilities of yellow squash and zucchini cultivars to MEAM1 across three growing seasons in the southeastern United States: summer 2021, fall 2021, and fall 2022. Commercially available cultivars squash and zucchini were examined for resistance to MEAM1 infestations and yield performance. Weekly MEAM1 adult, egg, and nymph counts were conducted over 5 (fall 2022) or 6 (summer and fall 2021) weeks beginning after the third week of planting in each season. In general, MEAM1 adult populations were high at the first week of sampling but decreased in the subsequent weeks. The Zucchini cultivar 'Black Beauty' had the highest number of MEAM1 adults, and 'Green Eclipse Zucchini' had the lowest adult counts in summer 2021. For yellow squash, 'Early Summer' and 'Amberpic 8455' were identified as the cultivars that harbored the highest populations of adults in 2021, whereas 'Golden Goose Hybrid' harbored the least number of adult infestations in fall 2022. Generally, MEAM1 egg counts trailed adult peak populations. For yield performance, 'Gourmet Gold Hybrid', 'Lioness', 'Fortune', and 'Golden Glory' achieved the highest yields. These results provide valuable information for whitefly management in yellow squash and zucchini based on host plant resistance and yield. The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) Middle East–Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1), causes significant losses to vegetable crops directly by sap-feeding, inducing plant physiological disorders, and elevating the build-up of sooty mold, and indirectly by transmitting plant viruses. In this study, we evaluated the susceptibility of 20 yellow squash and zucchini (Cucurbita pepo) cultivars to MEAM1, across three growing seasons in the southeastern United States. Weekly sampling of the numbers of MEAM1 adults, nymphs, and eggs were conducted from the fourth week after seed sowing and across 6 weeks during the summer and fall of 2021 and five weeks during the fall of 2022. In general, adult whitefly populations were high during the first week of sampling but decreased as the seasons progressed. The zucchini cultivar 'Black Beauty' harbored the most adults, while 'Green Eclipse Zucchini' was the least attractive zucchini cultivar to the adults in fall 2022. For yellow squash, 'Early Summer' (summer 2021) and 'Amberpic 8455' (summer 2021 and fall 2022) were the cultivars with the highest adult populations, while 'Lioness' (summer 2021) and 'Gourmet Gold Hybrid' (fall 2022) harbored the lowest adult counts. The whitefly egg counts across both vegetables trailed those of adults and peaked in the second week of sampling. The counts of nymphs increased as the seasons progressed, but there was a decline after the second week during fall 2021. For the yellow squash cultivars, 'Gourmet Gold Hybrid', (summer 2021 and fall 2022), 'Lioness', and 'Fortune' (summer 2021) recorded the highest yields. For zucchini, 'Golden Glory' (summer 2021) was the top performer. These results provide valuable information for whitefly management in yellow squash and zucchini based on host plant susceptibility and yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
