Effect of abiotic climatic on some pests and their predators on watermelon plants in Kafr El-Sheikh
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64171/JAE.5.4.1-4Keywords:
Watermelon, Abiotic factors, Pests, PredatorsAbstract
Piercing sucking pests considered the most important dangerous pests infesting and destructive, a wide range of different agricultural crops especially watermelon fields. Amature stages and adults of the sucking pests are equally harmful for the green parts on the plants. This study investigated the population fluctuations of the piercing sulking pests, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), Thrips tabaci (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) and A. gossypii (Hemiptera: Aphididae, and Aphis gossypii and their predators in Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, Egypt, over the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The findings showed the mite was the most prevalent pest, while thrips were the least common. Spider mite and whitefly populations reached their peak from mid-June to late July in both seasons. Aphid populations were consistently low throughout the study. Four key predatory species were identified: Hippodamia tredecimpunctata (Coleopteran: Coccinellidae), Coccinella undecimpunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), Orius spp (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) and Chrysoperla carnea (Nuroptera: Chrysopidae). H. tredecimpunctata being the most abundant and associated with the peaks of the pests on June and July. However, regarding the obtained data in the first and second seasons, observed on June 2nd with 268.5 and 255.25 individuals, respectively. Our weather conditions are highly significant correlated with the pests and their predators in the first and second seasons. Therefore, no significant correlation with whitefly and highly significant correlation with the aphid. The overall impact of predators on pests was insignificant and significant on aphid. These results are crucial for developing integrated pest management strategies.
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