Biological Control of Whiteflies with Entomopathogenic Fungi

Abstract

This paper is a review of 3 fungi (Aschersonia aleyrodis Webber, Verticillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Viegas and Paecilomyces fumosoroseus (Wize) Brown & Smith that are being evaluated for the management of injurious polyphagous whiteflies and was presented as part of a conference on the potential for biological control in the Caribbean. The prospect for the utilization of biopesticides based on entomopathogenic fungi is promising. The need to develop alternatives to conventional pesticides has become apparent in recent years because two of the major whitefly pest species, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), have developed resistance to many of the insecticides used for their control.