Sampling Schemes and Action Thresholds for Sweet Potato Whitefly Management in Spring Melons

Early season infestations of sweet potato whiteflies, Bemisia tabaci ( Gennadius) were monitored in fields of cantaloupe, Cucumis melo L., near Yuma, Arizona. We used these data to describe the relationship between the proportion of infested leaves and mean adult population density for the entire field. This model was used to develop a binomial sampling plan based on a presence- absence approach. We evaluated the model with three independent data sets, and the level of agreement between the model and data was reasonable for pest management purposes. A minimum sample size of 200 leaves is suggested for maximum accuracy. By turning over 50 leaves in the four quadrants of a field and determining what proportion have whiteflies (i.e., are there whitefly adults on the leaf or not), growers can estimate field populations. We recommend that if 60% of the sampled leaves have whiteflies then it is time to make a pesticide application because that tells you that population levels are approaching 3 adults per leaf