Silverleaf Whitefly

Silverleaf Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) has more than 500 hosts between crops and ornamental plants and is a pest in most of them. The cotton crop, which is one of the most important crops affected by this species, suffers annual losses of millions of dollars. Whitefly damages plants directly and indirectly. Directly by sucking sap from leaves causing poor growth, stunting, defoliation and reduced yields. Indirectly by producing a sugary substance, called honeydew, which interferes with photosynthesis and prevents the normal growing of the crop. Honeydew may favour the colonisation of black sooty mould that produces black residue on leaves and bolls.