Pests of Citrus :: Major Pests

Pests of Citrus :: Major Pests :: Citrus Whitefly

4. Citrus whitefly: Dialeurodes citri (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Distribution and status :Native of India, America, Guatemala, Bermuda, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Brazil, France, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Japan, Macao, Pakistan and Sikkim. Host range Citrus, allamanda, banana shrub, chinaberry, coffee, Ficus macrophylla, jasmine, lilac, mock olive, pear, pomegranate, tree of heaven, trumpet vine, umbrella tree, water oak, persimmon, and wild olive.
Damage symptoms Nymphs and adults suck large quantities of sap. Further injury is caused by sooty mold fungus which grows over fruit and foliage in copious amount of honeydew excreted by the whitefly. Heavily infested trees become weak and produce small crops of insipid fruit.
Bionomics Tiny mealy white adult female lays about 150 eggs on foliage and hatch in eight to 24 days. Freshly laid eggs smooth yellow turn black with netted ridges. Unfertilized eggs develop into males only. The larvae soon settle to feed and do not move about until the adult stage is reached. The nymph is a flat, elliptical, scale-like, translucent, closely fastened to the underside of a leaf. Nymphal life averages 23 to 30 days. Pupae opaque and eye spots visible. Pupal development requires 13 to 30 days. Adult longevity 10 days. The entire life cycle from egg to adult requires from 41 to 333 days. There are several overlapping broods each year.

Management Regularly prune to avoid whitefly problems. Conserve predators like Coccinellids viz., Cryptognatha flavescens., Verania cardoni. Refer chemicals as given for citrus blackfly.