Population dynamics and management of whitefly, Bemisia tabaci in tomato ecosystem, Solanum lycopersicum L.

Field experiment on population dynamics and management of whitefly, Bemisia tabaci was carried out at the experimental farm, Department of Horticulture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, during 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively. The peak activity of whitefly (6.74/leaf) was observed during the last week of February, 2016 and (6.30/leaf) was observed during the first fortnight of March, 2017. Population of whitefly showed a significant negative correlation with average relative humidity and positive correlation with maximum temperature, total rainfall during both the seasons. The result indicated that all the treatments tested against B. tabaci gave effective control. Spinosad @ 0.3 ml/litre was graded as the most effective treatment followed by azadirachtin @ 5 ml/litre and Beauveria bassiana @ 5 ml/lit in reducing whitefly population.