Cotton Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) Management: An Integrated Review on Biology, Molecular Identification, and Control Technologies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63147/krjs.v5i1.278Keywords:
Bemisia tabaci, cryptic species complex, host plant interactions, integrated pest management, botanical control, sustainable management.Abstract
Cotton is a major source of foreign exchange and rural employment in Pakistan, yet national production fell from 13.9 million bales in 2014-15 to 8.5 million bales in 2019-20. The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is among the most damaging biotic constraints on the crop. It injures plants by phloem feeding, contaminates leaves with honeydew that supports sooty mould, and transmits begomoviruses, including those that cause cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD). Bemisia tabaci is a complex of morphologically indistinguishable cryptic species. Four of them (MEAM1, Asia I, Asia II 1 and NAFME) have been confirmed in Pakistan, and Asia II 1 is associated with high CLCuD incidence in Punjab. This review summarizes the taxonomy, biology, host range and molecular identification of the complex, and evaluates cultural, mechanical, botanical, visual, olfactory, vibrational, chemical and molecular control options. The efficacy evidence is drawn largely from laboratory bioassays and from vegetable crops, the summary statistics are rarely comparable between studies, and few studies report results by cryptic species, which limits transfer to cotton. Neonicotinoid resistance ratios of 6.5 to 66 fold have been recorded in Punjab populations, and target-site resistance to neonicotinoids has now been demonstrated. Secondary endosymbionts such as Hamiltonella may influence virus persistence in Asia II 1 populations, but this has not been tested in Pakistani field populations. Cryptic species identification, resistance phenotyping and endosymbiont screening should be run on the same field samples before rotation schedules and IPM recommendations for Punjab cotton are revised.
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