Abstract Tropical pumpkin ( Cucurbita moschata Duchesne; Cucurbitaceae) is popular among Caribbean and Latin American people in Florida but is mostly imported. Research is needed to support the expansion of domestic production. The goals of this study were to determine the arthropod pest complex on tropical pumpkin in Florida and investigate the effects of genotype and mulch type on this complex. Pests and natural enemies were sampled during spring 2022, fall 2022, and summer 2023 cropping seasons. A total of 13 genotypes, all grown on roller-crimped mulch, were compared, and included 11 tropical pumpkin genotypes ( C. moschata ), one butternut squash genotype ( C. moschata ), and one hull-less seed pumpkin genotype ( Cucurbita pepo L.). In addition, the genotype ‘La Estrella’ was evaluated on roller-crimped cover crop mulch, an unmulched raised bed, and a raised bed with black plastic mulch. The main pests each season were aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae), whiteflies ( Bemisia tabaci Gennadius MEAM1; Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), squash bugs ( Anasa tristis (DeGeer); Hemiptera: Coreidae), and flower thrips ( Frankliniella spp.; Thysanoptera: Thripidae). There were no differences in aphid and whitefly numbers among genotypes, but squash silverleaf disorder (SSL) ratings did differ. ‘Kakai’, ‘Waltham Butternut’, and ‘Verde Luz’ had the lowest SSL ratings while UFTP42 and ‘Soler’ had the highest SSL ratings. The use of black plastic mulch reduced aphid numbers per plant in the spring and thrips numbers in the fall and summer. In conclusion, the pest complex of tropical pumpkin is like that of C. pepo , UFTP42 and ‘Soler’ may be unsuitable choices for Florida due to high SSL levels, and roller-crimped mulch is a viable option for organic growers.
Rhodes et al. (2026) studied this question.