Seasonal population dynamics of the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) on strawberries in Southern California.

Abstract

The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood), has recently become a major insect pest of strawberries in Southern California. The population dynamics of this pest were monitored over 2 yr in six commercial strawberry fields near the coastal communities of Oxnard and Ventura under two crop-production regimes, summer- and fall-planted strawberries. Adult whitefly numbers generally peaked during the February through May period for fall-planted strawberries and during the October through November period for summer-planted strawberries. Population densities varied greatly among fields within each regime and the differences were likely caused by surrounding alternate host crops.