IPM for Bemisia tabaci: A case study from North America

A model of whitefly integrated pest management (IPM) has been proposed that conveniently organizes all Bemisia tabaci control tactics into a multi-level, multi-component pyramid and defines three major keys as "sampling", "effective chemical use", and "avoidance". Each component is described along with information about its implementation, adoption, and importance in the low (< 700 m) desert agroecosystem of North America, which recently sustained the introduction and expansion of the B biotype during the 1990s. Insect growth regulators (buprofezin and pyriproxyfen; insect growth regulator (IGR)) in cotton and imidacloprid use in vegetables and melons were key chemical tactics, especially in the US, that were fully integrated with formal sampling plans and action thresholds, and resistance management guidelines. In Mexico, tactics of avoidance such as mandatory planting and harvest dates, post-harvest sanitation, and host-free periods along with strategic use of insecticides implemented cooperatively were key to the recovery of this agroecosystem. A concept, "bioresidual", was developed to explain the extended period of suppression possible through the proper use of IGRs. Organized and sustained grower education was key to the areawide adoption and deployment of this successful IPM plan, which has drastically lowered whitefly targeted insecticide use and whitefly related problems since 1996.