Exploring the effectiveness of methyl salicylate and attractive traps in dispersing and recapturing glasshouse whiteflies: advances in push-pull strategy.

BACKGROUND: Methyl salicylate (MeSa), a plant defense elicitor and whitefly deterrent, has been shown to reduce the settlement of the glasshouse whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) on host plants. This study aimed to evaluate the dispersal effect of MeSa on whiteflies settled on tomato plants and assess the efficacy of yellow sticky traps (YST) and green light-emitting diode (LED)-enhanced YST (green LED trap (GLT)) in recapturing dispersed whiteflies. These findings form the basis for developing a push-pull strategy to enhance whitefly control.

RESULTS: Initial experiments tested varying MeSa concentrations, revealing that higher concentrations significantly increased whitefly dispersal, with the highest concentration causing nearly four times more dispersal compared to the control. Subsequent scaling-up experiments evaluated the dispersal effect of the most effective MeSa concentration from the first experiment, in presence of a YST or a GLT. Results revealed that MeSa significantly increased whitefly dispersal from plants within just 2 h, with nearly 50% dispersal after 24 h and 95% recapture rate on the traps. The GLT consistently captured more whiteflies than the YST, and both traps showed enhanced catching efficacy in the presence of MeSa compared to the control.

CONCLUSION: These findings highlight the potential of combining MeSa as whitefly dispersal factor (push) with green LED-enhanced traps as attractive factor (pull) in push-pull strategies to improve targeted whitefly control in glasshouse crops, while reducing reliance on pesticides. © 2025 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.