Biological control of some pests on melon crops in greenhouses

Abstract

The cultivation of melons occupies an important area worldwide, the main cultivating countries being China, Turkey, Iran, India and Egypt. In Europe, Romania ranks 4th in terms of area after Spain, Italy and France. Foliar diseases of melons have a negative impact on fruit production and quality. This experiment aimed to study the efficacy of some biological plant protection products for the control of mites (Tetranychus urticae) and powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea) on melons crops in greenhouse. The bifactorial experiment includes 7 variants, 3 biological products used to control mites: Flipper (potassium salts of C7-C20 fatty acids) 16 l / ha, Requiem prime (mixture of terpenoids QRD 460) 10 l / ha and Canelys (cinnamon extract) 0.3% and 2 biological fungicides for powdery mildew: Taegro (Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain FZB24) 0.37 kg / ha, Sonata (Bacillus pumilus strain QST 2808) 10 l / ha, 6 foliar applications. The Flipper product 16 l / ha had a very high efficacy of over 90% in the control of the mite Tetranychus urticae, in all 3 stages: eggs, nymphs and adults. The products Taegro 0.37kg / ha and Sonata 10 l / ha had an efficacy between 73.6 and 99.9% in powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea) control. It is recommended to use the biological products Flipper 16 l / ha, Requiem prime 10 l / ha in the control of the mite (Tetranychus urtice) and Taegro 0.37kg / ha and Sonata 10 l / ha for powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea).