Comparative study between biological and chemical control programs of certain sweet pepper pests in greenhouses

Sweet pepper is an important vegetable crop in Egypt. It is cultivated for local consumption and exportation. The crop is attacked by a large number of pest species such as Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Genn.), the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychu surticae Koch, and the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hubner). The present study was conducted on the sweet pepper cultivated in greenhouses, during the winter plantation 2016/17 in a commercial farm located at Berkash district, Giza Governorate, Egypt. Three control programs were practiced: the first used biological control agents (BC), the predators, Orius albidipennis (Reuter), Macrolophus caliginosus (Wagner), Chrysoperla carnea (Steph.), and the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma euproctidis (Girault); the second was sprayed by the recommended chemical control program of the farm (CC); and the third was untreated as a control. Obtained results revealed that the BC program was the most significant one for controlling the complex of sweet pepper pests. Also, applying the BC program resulted to a high yield of sweet pepper production (35.06% increasing than the control).