Agriculture

Ibrahim Saleem (Abu Dhabi)

The Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority warned farmers against ignoring the economic effects of the white insect on vegetables, including zucchini, tomatoes and eggplant, which may lead to farmers incurring losses in the crop, if they neglect their resistance. This came during a workshop organized by the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority on integrated management. The white fly on vegetable crops “from a distance” with the “start of the agricultural season”, during which it was found that it may lead to the destruction of the crop in the absence of resistance.
The authority called for not to overuse nitrogen fertilizers, not to rely on a specific pesticide, and to diversify in short-term pesticides so that insects do not gain immunity from pesticides. Of the beneficial insects in the fields, as well as the aphid lion.
The fly spreads all over the world, which indicates its danger and speed of spread, and it began to appear in the country, in the last decade, and includes families of the whitefly up to 400 families, and the most important families affected in our region are tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, cucumbers, and some vegetables, and extends a life cycle that is characterized by fast, up to 12 generations per year,
And she urged farmers to choose reliable companies when buying organic fertilizers that kill pest eggs and insects, and to use short-term pesticides to control the insect in its full stages, the larva, egg and adult stages.

Damage and symptoms of injury
The whitefly causes a direct loss by feeding on the leaves of the plants, by piercing and absorbing the plant juice from the vegetative system. The feeding of the fly and the nymphs on the plant causes some physiological phenomena such as: weak growth and plant stunting. Infection points are found on the surface of the leaves, causing them to wrinkle and fall as a result of the fly’s absorption of plant juice. Which reduces the ability of the plant to produce fruits and thus a large loss of yield. In the event that it spreads in the field, it may lead to the loss of the entire crop, its damage and damage to the crop, in addition to indirect damage, such as: “transmission of viral diseases, and the secretion of honeydew in all its phases, as this sugary substance accumulates on the surface of the leaves for the growth of sooty mold fungi and the deposition of dust on them Thus, it inhibits photosynthesis and other physiological processes.

Monitoring and control methods
The authority stressed that the control is a major challenge for farmers to reduce the infection. Therefore, it is necessary to take integrated preventive measures and adopt an integrated management method for the pest to limit its spread and reduce its damage. The pest, as soon as it enters a new suitable area, is characterized by its high ability to rapid endemicity and wide spread in various ways and means.
It has also been proven that the phases of the pest can move through packing containers, which are used more than once, and from there the infection is transmitted to other new places. Chemical as the only method of control is considered the biggest problem in reducing the pest, in order to develop resistant strains quickly. The workshop dealt with integrated pest control when starting agricultural operations, using resistant varieties, constantly removing weeds to reduce other hosts, collecting and burning severely infested plants, using the crop rotation system, planting belts of attractive or repellent plants, good fertilization and irrigation, and continuous monitoring of the general health of plants and their injuries.
With regard to pest management in nurseries, the authority stressed the need to choose an isolated nursery in clean, sterile soil free of weeds, while avoiding the establishment of the nursery in the place of the previous crop in the affected land as much as possible, and preparing the soil well and sterilized with nylon to kill pathogens, nematodes and insects that cannot be “sun sterilized.” Disposing of all weeds manually in and around the nursery mechanically and avoiding the use of herbicides, and making two doors for each nursery, a main door and a small front door with yellow sticky papers placed in its entrance to catch intruding insects, sterilizing the soil with the appropriate pesticides available in the proportions specified on it.
She emphasized the care to use appropriate organic pesticide spraying in the early stages of the emergence of symptoms of infection, good treatment of seedlings in the nursery gives feasible results in the prevention of the pest, and in the case of resorting to the use of chemical pesticides is keen to spray pesticides with a short safety period.

House soil sterilization
The authority called for sterilizing the soil of the greenhouses before planting with the appropriate pesticides, in the greenhouses, removing all plant residues and disposing of them in the right ways, sealing the entrances and placing protection nets on them, and that they be in the form of two doors, and the first entrance is closed, and then the second entrance is opened and all Openings in the greenhouse, removing and disposing of infected plants or leaves and keeping them away from the vicinity of plants in the greenhouse, sealing the openings from the edges and sides and using protection gauze to cover fans, doorways and rooms in the area of ​​​​cooling panels

Pest management in the open field
With regard to integrated pest control in the open field, the authority called for the removal of all remnants of the previous season, and all types of weeds in the field before planting and during the different stages of plant growth, the use of the crop rotation system, and the use of yellow sticky traps to monitor and control the pest, and in case of heavy infestation. It is recommended to use appropriate organic pesticides, followed by chemical pesticides with a short safety period, to reduce the intensity of the pest.