OPEN COTTON BOLL EXPOSURE TO WHITEFLIES AND DEVELOPMENT OF STICKY COTTON

Trehalulose and melezitose produced by Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring and thermodetector counts in cotton lint increased with increasing numbers of days of exposure of open cotton bolls in infested cotton plots. Thermodetector counts were significantly correlated to amounts of trehalulose and melezitose. Rainfall of 0.5 inch reduced trehalulose and melezitose in cotton lint within 5 h following the rain. The results suggest dissolution of the sugars followed by runoff as opposed to microbial degradation.