Understanding pest population dynamics in squash: The role of cultivar selection and weather conditions

Due to the inherent problems associated with the use of synthetic pesticides, incorporating nonchemical strategies in the management of insect pests has become increasingly important. In the present study, the susceptibility of 20 squash cultivars to different insect pests were investigated for six weeks in summer and fall 2021 and fall 2022 in southern Georgia, U. S. A. Also, climatic factors were monitored during the study. Results showed whitefly adult counts were high during the first week of sampling but decreased as sampling weeks progressed. The cultivars ’Black Beauty', 'Early Summer', and 'Amberpic 8455' harbored the most whitefly, while 'Green Eclipse Zucchini', 'Lioness' and ‘Gourmet Gold Hybrid’ were the least attractive squash cultivars to the whitefly. The number of thrips were significantly higher on 'Fordhook Zucchini,' 'Fortune,' 'Gentry,' 'Green Eclipse Zucchini,' ‘Saffron’, ‘Sure Thing Hybrid’, ‘Gourmet Gold Hybrid’, and 'Grey' in the later sampling weeks (Weeks 5 and 6). Fordhook Zucchini harbored significantly more banded cucumber beetles. Striped cucumber beetle, spotted cucumber beetle, and squash bug showed significant population peaks around Week 5. The pickleworm and melonworm exhibited peaks in Weeks 4 and 3, respectively. The banded cucumber beetle showed a significant peak in Week 6. Temperature and relative humidity showed significant positive correlations with populations of whitefly, striped cucumber beetle, squash beetle, and melonworm, highlighting the influence of these climatic factors on pest insect dynamics. These results provide valuable information on the integrated pest management of squash.