Abundance of spiralling whitefly, a newly introduced pest in Maharashtra State.
Charati S. N., Pokharkar D. S., Ghorpade S. A.
Author Affiliation: College of Agriculture, Pune - 411 005, India.
Journal of Maharashtra Agricultural Universities 28 : 83-84
Abstract : A study on spiralling whitefly (Aleurodicus dispersus), a newly introduced pest in Maharashtra, India, was conducted. The damage to crops was caused by both the larvae and adults of the pest by sucking the cell sap, secreting honey dew-like substances which favoured the development of sooty mould, hindering photosynthetic activities. As much as 50 eggs were recorded on a single leaf, and a female was found to lay approximately 400 eggs. The incidence of whitefly was very serious in guava orchards. A maximum of 13-15 nymphs per leaf was recorded around Pune during 1997-2000. The density of whitefly was high in July-August and November-January. Different host plants were recorded in and around Pune, including banana, mango, coconut, groundnut and pigeon pea. However, the population density of whitefly was copious on guava and pawpaw. The natural enemies of the pest include the Coleopteran predator, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri, the Neuropteran predators, Mallada astur and M. boninensis, and parasitoids (Encarsia spp).