Dichlorvos Vapor For Control of Cotton Leafperforator and Other Insects in The Greenhouse, 1972-74

• Published in: Insecticide and acaricide tests 1977-01, Vol.2 (1), p.93-93
• Main Authors: Benschoter, C. A., Bariola, L. A., Leal, M. P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0276-3656
• DOI: 10.1093/iat/2.1.93

The cotton leafperforator is a major pest on cotton grown in the greenhouse in Arizona and a continuous program of control is necessary to keep plants free of this insect. Other pests that appear sporadically and cause problems are the pink bollworm, Pectinophoragossypiella (Saunders), the cabbage looper, Trichoplusiani (Hubner), white-flies, Trialurodes spp., aphids, Aphis spp., various species of thrips and spider mites, Tetranychus spp. The 25 × 32 ft greenhouse (ca 8500 ft3) has a door in each end. One side contains two 24-inch diameter exhaust fans, and the opposite side has a full length window which, in the open position, allows air to be drawn through wet filters for evaporative cooling. As a funigation chamber, this greenhouse is not even moderately tight. In order to fumigate we simply closed the window and doors and shut off the fans. The liquid dichlorvos (technical grade, 96%) was slowly vaporized from a petri dish on a hot plate (70°C). A fan distributed the vapor within the room. We did not adhere to a strict schedule during this study and fumigated only when perforator moths were observed in the greenhouse. Biological effects were measured by exposing caged insects to greenhouse fumigation and by confining untreated insects on treated plants. A minimum of 4 replicates was used in each test.