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Title: SWEETPOTATO WHITEFLIES, COTTON APHIDS, AND STICKY COTTON

Author
item Henneberry, Thomas
item Jech, Lynn
item Hendrix, Donald

Submitted to: Sweetpotato Whitefly Progress Review Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/1/2002
Publication Date: 6/1/2002
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: We compared the sugars extracted and cotton lint exposed to SPW and CA under laboratory conditions; also their effects on cotton lint stickiness as measured by thermodetector counts. Sweetpotato whitefly and cotton aphid are the two most common honeydew producing insect species that occur on cotton. Honeydew contaminated lint is a serious problem in lint processing at the textile mill. It can also be difficult to harvest and gin. The major sugar components of the honeydew of both insect species are glucose, fructose, sucrose, trehalulose, and melezitose. Trehalulose and melezitose are insect-produced sugars. SPWs produce more trehalulose in relation to melezitose and the opposite is true for CAs. We exposed clean cotton lint to SPW or CA in the laboratory. The total sugar contents of water extracts of honeydew-contaminated lint after exposure to the insects were significantly correlated to increasing thermodetector counts that occurred as a result of increasing durations of exposure. Higher concentrations of total sugars measured in these extracts occurred following exposures to SPW compared with CA. However, numbers of SPW and CA were different and the results are therefore not directly comparable. Research is continuing to further define differences and similarities in cotton lint stickiness as a result of honeydew lint contamination by SPW or CA.