BEMISIA-ARGENTIFOLII (HOMOPTERA, ALEYRODIDAE) DEVELOPMENT AND HONEYDEW PRODUCTION AS A FUNCTION OF COTTON NITROGEN STATUS

In a greenhouse experiment we documented the effects of low, medium, a nd high nitrogen in cotton on development and honeydew production by t he whitefly, Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring. Nitrogen status of cotton plants was manipulated by irrigation with 0.5, 2.5, or 5.0 mmol/liter nitrogen fertilizers. Although the fertilization treatments produced large differences in plant growth, subtle differences were f ound in whitefly development. No differences among treatments were fou nd in stage-specific survival or the time whiteflies spent in each sta dium. Time to adult emergence by whiteflies increased with decreasing nitrogen fertilization. Although early-instar whiteflies on high nitro gen plants initiated the production of honeydew droplets before whitef lies on medium and low nitrogen treatments, they subsequently generate d fewer droplets through 24 h periods.