Influence of Different Sowing Dates on The White Fly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) Infesting Cantaloupe Plants under open field conditions in Damietta Governorate

The experiments were conducted to study the influence of different sowing dates on the population density of the tomato white fly, Bemisia tabaci on cantaloupe plants under open field conditions during two successive years 2021and 2022 at Kafr-Saad region, Damietta Governorate. In the first year, the results showed that B. tabaci eggs recorded one and two peaks of infestation during the first and second sowing dates respectively, while in the second year, the egg stage recorded two peaks during each of the two sowing dates with, the highest populations were in May and September of 2022. On the other hand, nymphs of B. tabaci recorded three peaks during the first sowing date and one peak during the second sowing date in the first year, The highest peaks observed in June and October 2021, while in the second year the nymphs recorded one and two peaks during the first and second sowing dates, respectively. The total numbers of different stages in the first year recorded two and three peaks during the first and second sowing dates ,respectively. While in the second year, these numbers showed one and two peaks during the first and second sowing dates ,respectively. The highest peaks of B. tabaci stages were recorded in June and September during the two years of investigation. The temperature and relative humidity of both sowing periods. varied in their effect on the population density of B. tabaci.