Determination of the population development of Bemisia tabaci Genn. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) in permaculture farming system with cucumber, eggplant and aromatic vegetables grown together

In this master's thesis study, the effects of Bemisia tabaci populations were investigated in basil + eggplant, basil + cucumber, radish + eggplant, and radish + cucumber permaculture combinations. Eggplant + eggplant and cucumber + cucumber combinations were used as controls. The obtained data were presented graphically and evaluated using SPSS analyses. According to the results, it was observed that basil and radish effectively reduced pest populations. Combinations containing basil were found to be particularly successful in controlling pest populations. In the control groups, especially in the cucumber + cucumber combination, the pest population was observed to be the highest. These findings indicate that monoculture farming increases pest pressure, whereas polyculture systems involving biological diversity are more effective in pest control. The thesis highlights the importance of plant diversity in controlling pest populations and recommends the widespread adoption of biological control strategies in agriculture to reduce pesticide use.