Why in news
The Karnataka Legislative Assembly was informed about the widespread whitefly infestation impacting coconut trees across 14 districts.
The severity of the disease and its impact on coconut yields prompted discussions and questions within the assembly.
Farmers are seeking government intervention and compensation due to significant losses.
Whitefly disease
Whiteflies are a key pest of crops in open-field production throughout the tropics and subtropics.
Diseases caused by whitefly-transmitted viruses have become limiting factors in open-field production of a wide range of crops
While host resistance has proven to be the most cost-effective management solution, few examples of host resistance have been developed to date.
The main strategy to limit the incidence of virus-infected plants has been the application of insecticides to reduce vector populations aided to some extent by the use of selected cultural practices
Due to concerns about the effect of insecticides on pollinators, there is a growing need to develop and deploy strategies like need for genetic resistance to more viruses in more crop plants
Examples of diseases transmitted by whiteflies:
Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCV), Lettuce Infectious Yellows Virus (LIYV), African Cassava Mosaic Virus (ACMV)
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