Within-greenhouse and within-plant distribution of greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), in strawberry greenhouses

Abstract

The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), is a phloem-feeding pest that causes serious damage in vegetables and ornamental crops by direct feeding, vectoring of diseases, and causing sooty mold. To better inform the management of T. vaporariorum, the within-greenhouse and within-plant distribution of this pest was investigated in strawberry Fragaria ananassa Duchesne (Rosales: Rosaceae) greenhouses in Andong, Republic of Korea. Ten strawberry plants from both the edge rows and the center rows were randomly selected and examined. The number of adults per plant was recorded by visual observation, and numbers of eggs and nymphs per trifoliate leaf were counted under a microscope. Adult, nymph, and egg stages were all more abundant in edge rows than in center rows. More nymphs were found in the lower canopy in both edge and center rows, but egg density was higher in the upper canopy. No significant correlation was found between sticky trap counts and the population density of whiteflies on the plants. These results indicate that the edge of the greenhouse may be the area of greatest concentration of greenhouse whitefly in strawberry crops and may help in the development of more efficient monitoring and control measures for the greenhouse whitefly.