Characterization of antibiosis and antixenosis to the whitefly silverleaf Bemisia tabaci B biotype (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in several squash varieties

The objective of this study was to investigate the potential resistance mechanisms to Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) B biotype, in eight Cucurbita pepo varieties. Attractivity, oviposition preference, and nymphal development were evaluated under greenhouse and laboratory conditions. Variety Bianca was the least attractive to adult whiteflies in multi-choice tests. The whiteflies showed oviposition nonpreference (antixenosis) for Novita Plus, Bianca and Sandy in multi-choice test, and similar results were observed in no-choice tests with varieties Bianca, Novita, Caserta Cac and Sandy. Sandy expressed high antibiosis levels against whitefly nymphs, leading to 63.9% mortality. The high level of resistance in variety Sandy can serve as base for genetic improvement of C. pepo focusing on the development of resistant varieties to B. tabaci B biotype.