Bemisia tabaci on Vegetables in the Southern United States: Incidence, Impact, and Management

Abstract

Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is among the most economically important insect pests of various vegetable crops in the Southern United States. This insect is considered a complex of at least 40 morphologically indistinguishable cryptic species. Bemisia tabaci Middle East-Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) was initially introduced in the United States around 1985 and has since rapidly spread across the Southern United States to Texas, Arizona, and California, where extreme field outbreaks have occurred on vegetable and other crops. This pest creates extensive plant damage through direct feeding on vegetables, secreting honeydew, causing plant physiological disorders, and vectoring plant viruses. The direct and indirect plant damage in vegetable crops has resulted in enormous economic losses in the Southern United States, especially in Florida, Georgia, and Texas. Effective management of B. tabaci on vegetables relies mainly on the utilization of chemical insecticides, particularly neonicotinoids. However, B. tabaci has developed considerable resistance to most insecticides. Therefore, alternative integrated pest management (IPM) strategies are required, such as cultural control by manipulation of production practices, resistant vegetable varieties, and biological control using a suite of natural enemies for the management of the pest.

Sub-Lethal Effects of Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimmermann)-Derived Partially Purified Protein and Its Potential Implication in Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) Defense against Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Aleyrodidae: Hemiptera)

“…Sweet potato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Aleyrodidae: Hemiptera), is a highly destructive pest of various agronomic crops, ornamental plants, and vegetables in tropical and subtropical regions [1]. Adults and nymphs of B. tabaci damage the plants either by direct sap-sucking and/or indirectly by disrupting normal plant growth and photosynthetic activities and by vectoring different plant pathogens [2]. Combatting B. tabaci infestations is primarily dependent on the extensive applications of synthetic insecticides [3] which have caused the development of pesticide resistance in different field populations of B. tabaci [4,5].…”

Improving Whitefly Management

“…Li et al provide an extensive review of whitefly problems in vegetables in the southern United States, its economic impact, and management efforts. This review supports pest managers to decide which of the many tactics would be most available for their cropping system in this region [ 23 ].…”

Effect of Concentration of Entomopathogenic Nematodes (Steinernema spp.) to Bemisia tabaci Genn. (Hemiptera; Aleyrodidae) On Red Chili Plants

“…Bemisia tabaci adalah salah satu serangga hama paling penting secara ekonomi pada bermacam tanaman sayuran (Li et al, 2021). B. tabaci merupakan hama penting pada tanaman cabai merah.…”