HPLC of Insect Honeydew Deposits Collected from the High Speed Stickiness Detector

The objective of this work is to study the composition of insect honeydew deposits collected from the high speed stickiness detector (H2SD). Both the effects of the hot plate temperature and the cleaning roll pressure of the H2SD on honeydew-contaminated cottons are evaluated. The tested materials consist of samples from 27 bales contaminated by whitefly honeydew (from geographic Area 1), 27 bales contaminated by aphid and whitefly honeydew (from geographic Area 2), and 27 bales contaminated by aphid honeydew (from geographic Area 3). Analyses of the data reveal strong interactions of hot plate temperature, cleaning roll pressure, and contamination type. The HPLC analysis of sticky deposits collected from the H2SD aluminum foil shows that for cotton contaminated with whitefly honeydew, trehalulose is the dominant sugar and the main cause of stickiness. However, for cotton contaminated with aphid honeydew, unidentified compounds are suspected of being major contributors to stickiness.