Colored plastic films affect demographic characteristics of Aphis gossypii on cucumber plants

The production capacity and application of plastic films in China have increased dramatically with the rapid development of agricultural greenhouse and plastic tunnels. Although the effects of films on crop management have received much attention, only a few studies have considered their effects on insect pests. Here, we investigated the developmental and demographic parameters of an insect pest of economic significance Aphis gossypii Glover (Hemiptera: Aphididae) in yellow, purple, blue, red and clear plastic films, when feeding on cucumber plants. The fecundity of the aphids under blue and red films was significantly lower compared to purple, yellow, or the clear. The red film significantly decreased the intrinsic rate of increase, finite rate of increase, net reproduction rate, and gross reproductive rate of the aphids compared to the clear. Red and blue films reduced the age-specific fecundity and reproductive value of A. gossypii compared to the clear. In general, the red films could be used to retard the population growth of A. gossypii in large-scale agricultural greenhouses.