Responses of Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) Population on Tomato Lycopersicon esculentnm Mixed with Other Crops under Glasshouse Conditions

The whitefly Bemisia tabaci is one of the most important pests of the tomato Lycopersicon esculentnm in the world; it affects plant vigour, transmits geminiviruses and reduces crop quality. This experiment was conducted to determine the response of Bemisia tabaci population when tomato (Solanum lycopersicum MT1) planted alone (non-choice), tomato planted with brinjal (Solanum malagna MTe1), tomato with chilli (Capsicum annuum MC11), tomato with okra (Abelmoschus esculentus MKBE1), and all together (choice experiment) under glasshouse conditions (30-36 °C, 80% RH). The results have shown that, there were significantly higher (P< 0.05) numbers of adults, eggs and nymphs on tomato alone or planted with chilli, whereas significantly lower numbers of adults, eggs and nymphs were seen when tomato was planted with okra and brinjal. Generally, the number of adults and eggs was observed to be more on the upper stratum compared to the lower plant stratum. Interestingly, the number of nymphs was found to be higher on the middle stratum than on the other strata in all treatments.