ASSESSMENT OF MORPHOLOGICAL RESPONSES IN EGGPLANT (SOLANUMMELONGENA L.) TO WHITEFLY (BEMISIA TABACI GENN.) INFESTATION STRESS

Whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci Genn.) are destructive sugar-robbing insect pests that depend
primarily on plant leaf tissue for their nourishment thus, causing direct and indirect infestation
effects in different fruits and vegetables. In this study, the effect of whitefly infestation on the
green round eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) cultivar was evaluated in an indoor condition
using standard experimental methods. The trial was carried out using completely randomized
design (CRD) with four treatments (T1 = 15, T2 = 30, T3 = 45 and T4 ((control) = 0
whiteflies/plot) and four replications. The experiment consists of 16 plots, each measuring
1x1m2 with 0.5 m space between the plots, thus measuring 5.5x5.5m2 wide and length
respectively. The results revealed the level of leaf damage and its effects on the morphological
features of eggplant due to whitefly infestation. The infestation led to the emergence of multiple
symptoms, such as leaf discoloration, deformation, reduced plant growth, the presence of holes,
the deposition of honeydew and the formation of sooty mold, which collectively resulted in
substantial leaf damage. Plants in T3 were most affected with 90.10 and 93.18% leaf damage
while the least (70.00 and 68.00%) were found in T1, 12 weeks after infestation during the 2022
and 2023 experiments. Among the morphological parameters assessed, leaf fresh weight was
most affected (11.9g/leaf and 11.7g/leaf) in T1 and T3 respectively, representing 47.6 and 55.3%
reduction at 90 days after infestation (DAI). It was followed by plant height (37.6 and 38.9cm)
representing 46.7 and 46.5% reduction in the year 2022 and 2023 respectively. The least effect
was observed in leaf area recording 32.1 and 31.9% reduction in the respective cropping
seasons at 90 DAI. The lowest yield was recorded in T3 (40.0 and 31.8kg/ha) compared to 367.9
and 318.1kg/ha in the control group, representing 89.1 and 90.0% reduction in yield at 90
DAI.These indicate the high level of whitefly feeding effect on eggplant, demonstrating the need
for providing sustainable whitefly control methods to protect and enhance the productivity of
the crop.