#whiteflies

[zrzoli]

Trialeurodes vaporariorum, from the Aleyrodidae family, commonly known as the greenhouse whitefly

[dailybugfacts]

I have a whitefly infestation in a greenhouse where I volunteer so I found out there's an entomopathogenic fungus you can buy in a spray bottle. And I'm amazed by what science has found for us. Anyway do you want to tell me facts about whitefly to try and save their lives?

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TODAY'S FACT IS

Did you know that the Greenhouse Whitefly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum) is commonly found as a pest to greenhouse fruits, vegetables, and ornamental crops? At all stages of life (minus eggs and pupae) they drink the phloem from the leaf of their host plant directly and excrete honeydew, drawing further issues (mold, ants, etc). They also carry various viruses affecting plants like gourds, potatoes, tomatoes, and others. These small flies up to 2mm long) are often kept in control by even smaller parasitioid wasps (up to 0.6mm long) or specific fungi that eat the internal organs of the flies.

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Photo by Greg Smith

[lifebuoyjournals]

First known gene transfer from plant to insect identified

Discovery that a whitefly uses a stolen plant gene to elude its host’s defences may offer a route to new pest-control strategies.

[npr]

Jane Polston is a a professor at the University of Florida. She wants to show me how viruses infect plants, which has been the focus of her professional life ever since she first learned about plant viruses, back in college.

We step inside the greenhouse, where I see a smaller chamber with walls of fine mesh and six tomato plants inside. They don't look too healthy. Their leaves are wilting. "This is our tomato yellow leaf-curl virus colony," Polston says.

"If you look carefully, you can see some of the whiteflies landing on the leaves," Polston says. The flies start feeding on this plant, and as they do, they infect it with the virus. The virus starts replicating and moving throughout the plant.

Polston spent years studying this triangle of virus, insect, and plant so that she could figure out ways to disrupt it — and stop viruses from harming crops.

But she's now getting ready to carry out a very different kind of experiment in a different greenhouse, a super-secure one that I wasn't allowed to visit.

What's going on in that greenhouse is the brainchild of Blake Bextine, a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). He thinks there's a way to use this infectious triangle for good.

DARPA is funding Polston and several other groups of university researchers. Each group is using a different combination of insect and virus.

The viruses will be genetically modified so that they carry new packages of DNA. These new genes are supposed to help the plants — perhaps help corn survive a drought, for instance.

The insects are supposed to be genetically altered, too, to make sure they all die after they accomplish their mission.

But all this talk of genetically modified insects delivering "payloads" sounds disturbing to Silja Voeneke at the University of Freiburg, in Germany.

Her specialty is international law, including the Biological Weapons Convention, which the United States ratified in 1975. The BWC bans the use of living organisms such as bacteria or viruses as weapons of war.

Under this convention, she says, "each state party undertakes never, under any circumstances — never! under any circumstances! — to develop biological agents that have no justification for peaceful purposes," she says.

And to Voeneke, the peaceful puposes that DARPA has proposed don't really seem plausible. If one is trying to protect a crop, just spray it, she says. Why resort to uncontrollable, unpredictable tools like genetically modified insects and viruses?

Is The Pentagon Modifying Viruses To Save Crops — Or To Wage Biological Warfare?

Photos: Dan Charles/NPR

[pumpkin-patch]

Don’t forget to check the undersides of your leaves - it’s where most pests prefer to hang out, and that makes it easy to miss the start of an infestation.

[vsdindustries1]

Here is Some Information About Thiamethoxam Manufacturer in Ethiopia

Thiamethoxam Manufacturer in Ethiopia is a systemic insecticide and neonicotinoid class of chemicals used to control a broad spectrum of insect pests in agriculture, horticulture, and other settings. It is known for its effectiveness against various types of insects, including aphids, whiteflies, thrips, and beetles. Thiamethoxam belongs to a group of chemicals designed to disrupt the nervous systems of insects, ultimately leading to paralysis and death.

Visit Us: Thiamethoxam Manufacturer in Ethiopia

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Office No - 704, 7th Floor, Akashdeep Building, Barakhamba Road, New Delhi - 110001

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[email protected]

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[phone]

[lady13willow]

How To: Get Rid of Whiteflies

You don’t need to use chemicals to fight whitefly infestations in the garden. Here are six nontoxic ways to save your plants from these pest

[allperplusllc]

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