Optimal height for dusting tomato plants with Beauveria bassiana wettable powder using an electric hand blower

Abstract

We examined the optimal height for dusting tomato plants with Beauveria bassiana wettable powder using an electric hand blower. Conidia were detected mainly in the leaflets at a height of 60–100 cm when dusting was performed from a height of >40 cm from the ground; however, they were hardly detected in the leaflets in the same area when dusting was performed near the ground. When greenhouse tomatoes were dusted from a relatively mid-level height every 7 days, the reduction in the number of Bemisia tabaci larvae was similar to that achieved by spraying a 1,000 times diluted solution. Therefore, dusting tomato plants with B. bassiana wettable powder from a mid-level height helps to prevent B. tabaci infestation.