Efficacy of Imidacloprid on Whitefly in Fall Cantaloupes, 1994

Cantaloupes were direct seeded on 23 Jun into beds spaced 80 inches apart at the University of Arizona, Yuma Valley Agricultural Center, Yuma, AZ. Plots consisted of 2 beds, 100 ft long with a 10 ft buffer between plots. Plot preparation and seasonal maintenance followed local practices. Plots were arranged in a randomized complete block design with 4 replicates. Treatments consisted of soil applications of Admire 240 FS at 0.31, 0.25, 0.18 and 0.12 lbs Al/acre; Metasystox-R 2SC at 0.5 lbs AI/acre, and an untreated check. All treatments were applied to the soil 2 inches sub seed furrow prior to planting (22 Jun) through narrow shanks in 15 gpa total volume of water. Plots were established and insecticide incorporated with furrow irrigation. SPWF densities were estimated by counting the number of eggs and nymphs on two-cm2 disk sections from each of 10 leaves per plot on 14, 28, and 42 DAT. Because of heterogeneity of mean variances, insect data was transformed (log10 x + 1) prior to analysis. Treatment differences among means were estimated with a protected LSD)0.05.