Whitefly attack worries Malwa cotton growers

Whiteflies have once again struck in the cotton-growing belt of the south Malwa region of Punjab. With the flies being sighted in large numbers, they are threatening a good cotton yield and thus the economic prospects of the growers.

whitefly has been sighted in villages of Mansa — Kot Dharmu, Jhunir, Bhame Kalan, Bhame Khurd, Bhagu Bhagsar, Khairpur, Rajpura, Patti Sadia, Jhorar Kheda and Wajidpur Bhuma— besides a few villages in their vicinity in Fazilka. Against a threshold level of six per leaf, cotton growers say the fly population settled per leaf this year is almost 24-25.

Whiteflies are small sucking insect related to aphids, leafhoppers, and mealybugs. They are usually found on the undersides of young leaves and have the capacity for rapid reproduction when conditions are favourable. When leaves are disturbed in infested crops, clouds of white flying insects indicate their presence.

Warm weather, nearby whitefly host crops or weeds and poor hygiene in protected cropping structures increase the risk of whitefly infestation. They can infest a large range of vegetable crops. Whitefly spread with infested plant material and attached to equipment and people.

Whitefly can damage plants by sucking sap from the plants, causing reduced growth, leaf yellowing, stunting, and yield reduction. Damage is similar to that caused by aphids. Sticky, sugary secretions called honeydew from whitefly can result in the development of sooty mould, which in turn affects the photosynthetic (food-producing) abilities of the leaves.