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Whiteflies Biology and control

Spain

MODULE C15

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IndexIndex

1. Taxonomy

2. Importance as pests

3. Distribution: pests and viruses

4. Life cycle5. Plant damage

6. Monitoring

7. Control8. IPM based on Biological Control

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Order Hemiptera. Family Aleyrodidae

Trialeurodes vaporariorum

Bemisia tabaci

TaxonomyTaxonomy

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Adults

Whitefly species identificationWhitefly species identification

T. vaporariorum

B. tabaci

Eggs Nymphs

Adaptadoed fromNew York State Integrated Pest Management Program Online publications

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High economic losses

Early infections

Very low spray threshold

Overuse of insecticides

TYLCVTYLCV CVYVCVYVCYSDVCYSDV

B. tabaci is a very efficient vector

B. tabaci B. tabaci as plant virus vector as plant virus vector

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• Attack high value crops (protected vegetables and ornamentals)

• Plant virus transmission specially B. tabaci

• Introduced pests in many regions (by man)

• Quarantine species

Importance as pestsImportance as pests

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Whitefly species distributionWhitefly species distribution

BemisiaBemisiaTrialeurodesTrialeurodesBemisiaBemisia TrialeurodesTrialeurodes

Canary Islands Reunion Island

IsraelMorocco

BemisiaBemisiaTrialeurodesTrialeurodesBemisiaBemisia TrialeurodesTrialeurodes

BemisiaBemisiaTrialeurodesTrialeurodesBemisiaBemisia TrialeurodesTrialeurodes

Canary Islands Reunion Island

IsraelMorocco

Distribution of whitefly species in tomato

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Bemisia transmitted viruses Bemisia transmitted viruses on tomatoon tomato

Geographical distribution of the virus: TYLCV and TYLCSV

CanaryIslands ReunionIsland

IsraelMorocco

Algeria Tunisia

Egypt

Lebanon

TYLCV & TYLCSV

CanaryIslands ReunionIsland

IsraelMorocco

Algeria Tunisia

Egypt

Lebanon

TYLCV & TYLCSV

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Bemisia tabaciBemisia tabaci Trialeurodes vaporariorumTrialeurodes vaporariorum

Eggs

Nymphs

Adults

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FOOD QUALITY AND SAFETYWhitefly damageWhitefly damage

DamageWeakening of the

plant

Black mould

Virus transmission

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Monitoring for decision Monitoring for decision makingmaking

Chemical control mainly based on calendar treatments

IPM strategies mainly based on monitoring

Whitefly species always identified

Sampling neither associated to the IPM control strategy nor to the growing cycle but to the production area.

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ControlControl strategies:strategies: cultural measurescultural measures

use plant material free from pests

remove weeds and remains from the previous

crop

keep the area surrounding the greenhouse clean

keep cover material and enclosures in good

conditions

be careful with neighboring crops highly infested

do not leave abandoned crops in the field.

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Control strategies 2Control strategies 2

On protected environments, effective whitefly control is principally achieved through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies

•IPM-based on the rational use of insecticides•IPM-based on biological control (BC)•Chemical control, based only on the use of insecticides•Organic production (insecticide-free approaches

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Chemical Control: rotated insecticide a.i. to delay the appearance of resistant biotypes of Bemisia

Biological control: conservation and augmentative releases of polyphagous predators and parasitoids..

Control Strategies 1Control Strategies 1

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Control strategies:Control strategies:Biological ControlBiological Control

Natural enemies used to control whiteflies

▲: Eretmocerus mundus

▲: Eretmocerus eremicus

● : Encarsia formosa

* : Macrolophus caliginosus

: Nesidiocoris tenuis: Typhlodromips swirskii: Dicyphus hesperus

Canary Islands Reunion Island

IsraelMorocco

▲*

▲▲*

*▲

▲▲

▲*● ▲

*

▲▲*

*▲▲●●*▲▲

▲*

▲▲*

▲▲*

▲

●▲ ▲

▲ ●

▲▲*

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Control strategies: Control strategies: Biological ControlBiological Control

Use by country

(N=9)

% surveys by positive use (N=24)

Eretmocerus mundusEretmocerus mundus 9/9 92

Macrolophus caliginosusMacrolophus caliginosus 7/9 58

Typhlodromips swirskiiTyphlodromips swirskii 7/9 54

Eretmocerus eremicusEretmocerus eremicus 4/9 42

Nesidiocoris tenuisNesidiocoris tenuis 4/9 29

Dicyphus hesperusDicyphus hesperus 2/9 17

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Natural enemies: Natural enemies: release rates release rates (indv./m2)(indv./m2)

GermanyA 1.5 - - 4-8

C 0.5-2.5 - - 7.5-9

South FranceA 4 - - 25-55

C 3 - 10 10

North Spain 1A 2-3 - 3-9 -

B 2 - - -

North Spain 2A 1.5 - - -

B 2 - 3-9 -

South SpainA - 0.75 10 -

B - 1  10 -

Mac

rolo

phus

calig

inosu

s

Nesid

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tenuis

Cycle

Area

Eretm

oceru

s

mundus

Encars

ia

form

osa

predators parasitoids