Mulches reduce aphid-borne viruses and whiteflies in cantaloupe

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" Mulches reduce aphid-borne viruses and whiteflies in cantaloupe "
Summers, Charles G.; Mitchell, Jeffrey P.; Stapleton, James J.

Document Type	:	AL
Record Number	:	944678
Doc. No	:	LA4wf766nd
Language of Document	:	English
Main Entry	:	Summers, Charles G.; Mitchell, Jeffrey P.; Stapleton, James J.
Title & Author	:	Mulches reduce aphid-borne viruses and whiteflies in cantaloupe [Article]\ Summers, Charles G.; Mitchell, Jeffrey P.; Stapleton, James J.
Title of Periodical	:	California Agriculture
Volume/ Issue Number	:	59/2
Date	:	2005
Abstract	:	We compared reflective plastic and wheat straw mulches with conventional bare soil for managing aphid-borne virus diseases and silverleaf whitefly in cantaloupe. The occurrence of aphid-borne virus diseases was significantly reduced with both mulches as opposed to bare soil, and reflective plastic performed better than wheat straw. Silverleaf whitefly numbers, both adults and nymphs, were reduced equally by plastic mulch and wheat straw, and were significantly lower than with bare soil. Reflective plastic produced mature melons sooner and more cartons per acre than the other production systems. The reflective plastic system also produced a greater number of large-size melons, which are favored in the late-season market. Plants grown over straw mulch produced higher overall yields, including large-size melons, than those grown over bare soil.