Epidemics of Begomoviruses Transmitted by Bemisia tabaci in Habanero Peppers and the Efficacy of Botanical Insecticides

Bemisia tabaci transmits begomoviruses that cause the most devastating disease of Capsicum chinense in tropical regions. Here we first evaluated the incidence and severity of Begomovirus symptoms on habanero pepper landraces H-224 and H-241 and commercial cultivar Jaguar that were naturally infested with B. tabaci in the field. Then we treated H-241 in the greenhouse with different botanical insecticides and assessed the Begomovirus symptoms. In the field, the mean area under the disease progress curve for incidence and severity did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) among the peppers tested; however, the final incidence of symptoms was significantly lower on Jaguar pepper than on the two landraces. Jaguar and H-241 had higher fruit yield than H-224. In the greenhouse experiment, the botanical insecticides protected H-241 against viral symptoms similarly to the treatment with only chemical insecticides. The fruit yield did not differ significantly between plants treated with the botanical insecticide combinations (2.1–2.5 kg plant⁻¹) and those treated with only chemical insecticides (2.3 kg plant⁻¹). The use of botanical insecticides holds promise as an environmental-friendly option to manage B. tabaci-transmitted begomoviruses in habanero pepper.