US: Pesticide-resistant whitefly in Florida more likely to contain a virus
The Q-biotype whitefly – not to be confused with the B-biotype, which came to Florida in the mid-1980s – is now being seen outside greenhouses and nurseries and poses a threat to ornamental plants and agricultural crops. After the B-biotype was found in Florida in the 1980s, scientists saw big increases in the diversity and frequency of whitefly-transmitted viruses in many Florida crops, said Jane Polston, a UF/IFAS plant pathology professor. Crops like beans, tomato, watermelon and squash were hit hard by these viruses after the appearance of the B biotype.
“This Q-biotype is a pest that damages crops and resists many of the insecticides that are effective on the B-biotype, the whitefly that is common in many ornamental and vegetable crops,” Polston said. “And like other whiteflies, it is capable of transmitting viruses from one plant to another.”
But because the Q-biotype whitefly feeds for longer periods on some plants, it has a greater chance of acquiring a plant virus, Polston said. The more time a whitefly spends feeding on a plant, the more likely it is to acquire a virus from an infected plant. Only a few studies have been conducted on the host plants that Q and B feed on, but those few studies indicate that Q and B do have different preferences, she said.
Because these whitefly species feed differently, vegetable and ornamental crop growers may see different viruses in their crops, as well as how many plants become infected each season, Polston said.
Click here to read the complete article at ww.ufl.edu.