Susceptibility of Eggplant Cultivars to Sap-Sucking Insect Pest’s Infestation
Rania S. Rashwan *
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt and Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Emad A. M. Gado
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study was carried out to study the changes in the population density of three main pests attacking two varieties of eggplant (Solanum melongena). The three insect pests were Bemisia tabaci (Genn), Aphis gossypii (Glover) and Empoasca decipiens (Paoli). The seasonal changes in the population density for three main pests formed two peaks during 2012/2013 season on two varieties. The first peak for B. tabaci was recorded on (classic variety) during the first weak December, the second peak was recorded at the first week of March. For (Sicilian variety) the first peak occurred on the second week of December while second peak was recorded on the end of February. The first peak for A. gossypii on (Classic v.) occurred through mid of December and the second formed on mid of arch. The second peak was recorded through mid of March. For (Sicilian v.) the first and second peak were stated at the end December and at the end of February respectively. The population density of E. decipiens of the first peaks was recorded on (Classic v.) mid of December and the second peak was recorded on mid of February. For (Sicilian v.) the two peaks occurred on mid of February and mid of March respectively.
Keywords: Eggplant, cultivars, infestation, whitefly, aphids