Occurrence of exotic whitefly, Iaccarino (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and other whitefly species on fruit crops in Maharashtra, India.

Severe incidence of an exotic whitefly species Iaccarino (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) was noticed in the Pune region of Maharashtra state, India, on the fruit trees guava ( L.), jamoon ( L.), mango ( L.), chiku ( L.), custard apple ( L.), citrus ( spp.), banana ( spp.) and coconut ( L.). Additional host plants of are neem ( L.), Asoka ( (Roxb.) and temple tree ( L.). The identity of the pest was established based on sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase 1 (mtCO-I) region amplified from genomic DNA of single whitefly. The incidence of was 100% on guava, jamoon, and custard apple; wherein under the surface of the infested leaves looks completely white with cottony wax. In the case of, coconut, guava, chiku, and banana, was co-colonising along with the rugose spiralling whitefly ( Martin). Star gooseberry ( L., new host record) plants were severely infested with less frequently collected whitefly, Bemisia bryniae (Singh). Pomegranate ( L.) was infested by whitefly (Haliday). The study highlights the need for continuous monitoring of invasive whitefly species population on important fruit crops for timely application of management practices to prevent losses of potential yield.