Skip to main content
ARS Home » Southeast Area » Charleston, South Carolina » Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #392803
Research Project: Basic and Applied Approaches for Pest Management in Vegetable Crops

Location: Vegetable Research

Title: Susceptibility of snap bean cultivars to the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, in the Southern United States

Author
item LI, YINPING - Fort Valley State University
item MBATA, GEORGE - Fort Valley State University
item Simmons, Alvin
item PUNNURI, SOMASHEKHAR - Fort Valley State University

Submitted to: Crop Protection
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/27/2022
Publication Date: 5/31/2022
Citation: Li, Y., Mbata, G., Simmons, A.M., Punnuri, S. 2022. Susceptibility of snap bean cultivars to the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci, in the Southern United States. Crop Protection. 159:106022. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2022.106022.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2022.106022

Interpretive Summary: The sweetpotato whitefly is a major insect pest on vegetable crops worldwide. It results in much economic losses each year. The evaluation of local and commercially available snap bean cultivars for differences in susceptibility to the sweetpotato whitefly is critical to providing growers with alternative control strategies against this pest. Among 24 local and commercially available cultivars of snap bean, cultivars ‘Gold Mine’, ‘Golden Rod’, ‘Long Tendergreen’, and ‘Royal Burgundy’ supported lower numbers of whiteflies, although the cultivars with the highest yield were ‘Affirmed’, ‘Momentum’, ‘PV-857’, ‘Sybaris’, and ‘Tema’. These results provide valuable information for integrated pest management of whiteflies on snap beans based on host plant resistance and yield.

Technical Abstract: The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1), is a major insect pest on vegetable crops worldwide. Enormous economic losses result from plant damage caused by MEAM1. The application of chemical insecticides is among the main tools used commonly by vegetable growers to control MEAM1. However, this pest has developed considerable resistance to most insecticides due to intensive applications of insecticides. Therefore, alternative plant protection strategies are required, such as host plant resistance. In this study, 24 local and commercially available cultivars of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) in the Southern United States were assessed for their susceptibility to MEAM1 during three seasons (2020 fall, 2021 spring, and 2021 fall). The number of MEAM1 adults, eggs, and nymphs was assessed weekly for 6 weeks in each season. Snap bean yield was evaluated at the end of each season. During the fall of 2020, the number of MEAM1 adults per leaf was highest on Week 1 (22 adults per leaf), but was not significantly different among the 24 snap bean cultivars. The least number of eggs per 0.5 cm2 leaf disk was observed on the ‘Jade’ cultivar. Cultivars ‘Gold Mine’, ‘Golden Rod’, ‘Long Tendergreen’, and ‘Royal Burgundy’ supported a significantly lower number of nymphs per 0.5 cm2 leaf disk. Snap bean yield was significantly higher on cultivars ‘Affirmed’, ‘Momentum’, ‘PV-857’, ‘Sybaris’, and ‘Tema’. These results provide valuable information for integrated pest management of MEAM1 on snap beans based on host plant resistance and yield.