Susceptibility of Three Cucumber Varieties to Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Infestation and Impact of Intercropping of Aromatic Plant Against Bemisia tabaci Under Greenhouse

Alternative control techniques are increasingly preferred in the management of vegetable pests because of the detrimental effects of pesticides on the environment and human health. Two popular environmentally friendly control strategies include natural enemy release and intercropping. In this study, the impact of intercropping aromatic plants (sweet pepper, sweet fennel, and marjoram) with three cucumber varieties (Hule, Muluki, and Basha) on the population density of Whitefly and Bemisia tabaci compared with non-intercropped plants was indicated during two consecutive seasons (2021 and 2022) under greenhouse conditions. The results showed that planting marjoram significantly reduced the population density of B. tabaci, followed by sweet pepper and sweet fennel. Our findings demonstrate the possibility of optimizing sustainable pest management through the integration of alternative pest control technologies.