This document discusses the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci), a major pest of field crops and stored produces. It provides details on the scientific classification of whitefly, its distribution, host range, life cycle, damage caused, and management strategies. Whitefly feeds on over 600 plant species, is highly invasive, and transmits over 111 plant pathogenic viruses. Management involves cultural practices like timely sowing and crop rotation, as well as chemical control using insecticides like imidacloprid, ethion, and trizophos.

1. AEN 301
Pest of field crops and stored produces and their
management (1+1)
Ranjithveeran A (2019031056)

2. Scientific classification
Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order:Hemiptera
Family:Aleyrodidae
Genus : Bemisia
Species: tabaci

3. First recorded in Greece 1889 (Gennadius 1889).
Highly polyphagous pest and feeds on over 600 plants
species including many agricultural crops (Oliveria et al
2001).
In India, it’s outbreak was noticed in 1999 resulting in
complete failure of tomoto crop due to leag curl disease in
Kolar district of Karnataka (Ananthakrishnan 2009)

4. 24 different biotypes (Perring 2001)
 Among them, B.tabaci and B and Q are the most invasive
(De Barro et al 2011).
 Spread rapidly around the world to become a major crop
pest in tropical and subtropical region (Rekha et al 2005)
Transmits more than 111 species of plant-pathogenic
viruses (Jones, 2003).

5. DISTRIBUTION AND STATUS:
India, Sri Lanka,West Africa, Japan and Europe
HOST RANGE:
Cotton, tomato, tobacco, sweet potato

6. Nymphs and adults suck the sap from the under surface of
leaves.
Severe infestation results in premature defoliation,
development of sooty mould, shedding of poor boll opening.
It also transmits the leaf curl virus disease of cotton.
The insect is highly polyphagous.

7. Adult is a minute insect with yellow body covered with a
while waxy bloom.
 Eggs are laid on leaves. Egg period is three days.
Nymph is greenish yellow oval in outline.
Nymphal is period is 5-33 days in summer, 17-73 days in
winter.

8. Timely sowing with recommended spacing is essential,
avoid late sowing.
Avoid the alternative cultivated host crops of the whitefly
(Brinjal, bhendi, tomoto and tabacco) in the vicinity of the
crop.
Grow cotton only in a year either in winter or summer
season in any cotton tract.
Adopt crop rotation with Non-preferred hosts such as
sorghum and maize etc., to check the build up of the pest.

9. Spary NSKE 5℅ and neem oil 5 ml or fish oil soap at
1kg/40L of water.
Spray any of the following insecticides with 500 L water/ha.
Imidacloprid 17.8 SL 100-125 ml.
Ethion 50 EC 1. 5-2.0 kg.
Trizophos 40 EC 1.5-2 L.

10.  Pest Management in Cotton M.B. Green, D. J. De B. Lyon –
1989
 General concepts in Integrated pest and Disease management
A.Ciancio, K. G. Mukerji-2007.
 Management of Agricultural important sucking pests of
Cotton, K. Natarajan. 2017
 https://agritech.tnau.ac.in › cottonWhitefly - TNAU Agritech
Portal :: Crop Protection :: Pest :: Cotton
 https://www.cottoninc.com › whiteflyWhitefly - Cotton
Incorporated