Chapter 14 - Whitefly-Borne Viruses in Continental Europe

Abstract

Whiteflies, as vectors of disease agents, although not considered as important as aphids on a worldwide basis, caused significant losses throughout the world. There has been an increasing awareness of the losses caused by whitefly-transmitted viruses in the temperate areas. The number of articles dealing with whiteflies and viruses almost doubled in the last 10 years, whereas the number of articles on aphids and viruses remained almost constant. About one-tenth of the papers on whitefly-borne viruses discuss problems within Europe. The increasing menace of whitefly-borne viruses caused the European Union (EU) to set up the “European network on European whiteflies, their associated plant pathogens and disorders,” or more briefly, the European Whitefly Studies Network (EWSN), in 1999. Geographical Europe includes many more countries than those in the EU, and whitefly-borne viruses and their vectors tend to ignore borders, being more affected by geographical than political barriers. Therefore, this chapter includes the continental Europe countries extending over the Caucasus mountains (traditionally, one of the geographical limits of Europe) and Turkey, which is geographically mostly in Asia.