Building a better banker plant by incorporating predatory pallidus beetles, Delphastus pallidus LeConte (Insecta: Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), into the papaya banker plant system

Authors: Ahmed, Muhammad; McKenzie, Cindy; OSBORNE, LANCE - University Of Florida

Submitted to: European Congress of Entomology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/11/2023
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A variety of banker plant systems have been developed against whiteflies. Genus Delphastus Casey is a small whitefly-specific predatory ladybird beetle from the coccinellid tribe Serangiini. Our field surveys and experiment results indicated one of its species, D. pallidus LeConte has tremendous predation potential against multiple pest whitefly species and could be the best candidate for a papaya banker plant system (PBS). The PBS has a papaya plant as a banker plant and hosts non-pest whitefly species, papaya whitefly, Trialeurodes variabilis (Quaintance) as prey to rear natural enemies. The primary function of the PBS is to sustain and deliver natural enemies to control pest whiteflies in greenhouses and fields. The initial quantities of prey and natural enemies on a banker plant are critical while building any banker plant system. We incorporated D. pallidus successfully in the PBS in this study and calibrated the densities of D. pallidus and T. variabilis required in the PBS to deliver a maximum number of D. pallidus to target high and low both densities of pest whiteflies in a cash crop successfully. The commercial production of the PBS would need this calibration to ensure high-quality and standardized products. This talk will demonstrate the incorporation and calibration of D. pallidus in the papaya banker plant system.