Rugose spiraling whitefly – Its Invasion and Biological
Management Strategies
V. Sathiya Aravindan
M.Sc., Agri Plant pathology
Annamalai University

 This Rugose spiraling whitefly (Aleurodicus rugioperculatus) was first
reported in Miami in the Florida region by Martin.
 This spiraling whitefly is a polyphagus pests (affecting wide range of hosts).
 Worldwide the rugose spiraling whitefly is known to affect more than 45 hosts
including the plant species from the family Moraceae, Rutaceae, Arecaceae
Musaceae and some other commercially important crops. In India spiraling
whitefly is known to affect hosts from 21 families
 Commonly infected crops by rugose spiraling whitefly are Coconut, Arecanut,
Papaya and Banana.

 Prevalent all over the world but its prevalence is higher in India.
Especially in South India.
 Severe in Tamilnadu and Kerala.
 Particularly it pose a severe threat to the farmers in Kongu belt of
Tamilnadu including Coimbatore, Tirupur, Pollachi, Erode, Theni and
Kanyakumari.
Incidence of Sooty mold along with
Rugose spiraling whitefly

Pest:
Taxonomy:
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Suborder: Sternorrhyna
Family: Aleyrodidae
Genus: Aleurodicus
Species: rugioperculatus

Epidemiology:
Hot humid conditions are highly favorable for the pest development
Pest control and Severity:
 Rugose spiraling belongs to the Order Hemiptera. In general the
members of this order are known to produce the honeydew secretion.
 They are severe phloem feeders when they pierce their stylet into the
phloem due to the high pressure they are tend to produce the honeydew
secretion.

Rugose spiraling whitefly in Banana
Rugose spiraling whitefly Honey dew secretion
Thus the Aleurodicus rugioperculatus acts as a trichobiont (symbiotic relationship with
other organism) the pest produce honeydew secretion which attracts the superficial fungi
growth on the abaxial surface of the leaf most probably Capnodium sp complex
Sooty mold due to
Capnodium sp

This black superficial mat like growth drastically reducing the photosynthetic
ability of the palms and thus resulting in the reduced nut quality and quantity.
Management:
 For the control of sooty mold spraying of 5% of Maida solution (50g in 1 litre of
water). Upon drying of the Maida solution the superficial fungal growth becomes
flakes and fall off.
 Early monitoring of the palms should be recommended as they are more prone to
the pest (Rugose spiraling whitefly easily penetrates the leaf area and pierce their
stylet into the phloem) than the matured one.
 One of the most economically feasible methods of control of sooty mold is the
Parasitoids. One of the most commonly employed parasitoid is Leiochrinus
nilgirianus they are reared and mass multiplied and applied (clipped at the leaf) at
the rate of 5beetles/palm. They have the specialized bristles containing legs which
provide enough grips on the sooty mold laden leaves.

Image credits: A. Josephrajkumar, Chandrika Mohan, J. Poorani, Merin Babu, Daliyamol , Vinayaka Hegde , P. Chowdappa
The above picture shows the various growth stages of Leiochrinus nilgrianus

Employing Encarsia guadeloupae a nymphal parasitoid effectively control the pest incidence they multiply
inside the whitefly during their nymphal stages and parasitizes the entire system of the Rugose spiraling whitefly.
Spraying water at very high pressure destroys the whitefly as well as ward off the
sooty mold incidence.
Setting up of Yellow sticky traps in the plantation areas considerably reducing the whitefly population.
Several field studies revealed that application of the systemic insecticides makes the pest
even more gregarious and resurgent one. So the application of any sort of
insecticide should be strictly avoided.
Encarsia guadeloupae

References:
 https://www.phytojournal.com/archives/2018/vol7issue5/PartQ/7-5-
165-544.pdf
 https://bit.ly/3LXjXGk
 https://krishi.icar.gov.in/jspui/bitstream/123456789/24859/1/leiochrini%
20paper.pdf
 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12600-017-0635-5