Seasonal Occurrence and Reproductive Suitability of Weed Hosts for Sweetpotato Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), in South Georgia 1 Apurba K. Barman, Phillip M. Roberts, Eric P. Prostko, 2 and Michael D. Toews 3 Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA 31793, USA J. Entomol. Sci. 57(1): 1–11 (January 2022) Abstract South Georgia represents an area of intensive agricultural production where cultivated crops serve as hosts of the sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), throughout the year. In addition to cultivated hosts, there are numerous weed species present in the agricultural landscape that are undoubtedly responsible for supporting B. tabaci population development. This study provided information on the most abundant weed hosts of B. tabaci from this region. We evaluated 31 different weed species, of which 16 weed species are reproductive hosts with varying degrees of preference. Suitable weed hosts included cypressvine morningglory (Ipomoea quamoclit L.), nodding spurge (Euphorbia nutans Lag.), prickly sida (Sida spinosa L.), sharppod morning- glory (Ipomoea cordatotriloba Dennst.), smallflower morningglory (Jacquemontia tamnifolia L.), tall vervain ( Verbena bonariensis L.), and wild poinsettia (Euphorbia heterophylla L.). These species are highly abundant and therefore likely influence B. tabaci populations in the landscape. Other species including bristly starbur (Acanthospermum hispidum DC) and redweed (Melochia corchorifolia L.) were highly preferred by B. tabaci but not nearly as abundant in the landscape. Furthermore, we identified 10 very common weed species that were poor reproductive hosts including wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum L.), Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri S. Watson), common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia L.), Florida pusley (Richardia scabra L.), and henbit (Lamium amplexicaule L.). Key Words reproductive host, pest management, population suppression, leaf area Sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci Gennadius, is an economic pest of many crops around the world (Brown et al. 1995, Byrne and Bellow 1991, Naranjo and Ellsworth 2001, Simmons et al. 2008). This insect was introduced into the United States in the late 1980s and has resulted in severe economic losses in vegetable and upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production systems from California, Arizona, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina (Perring 2001). Crop losses can result from direct feeding by adults and immature whiteflies or transmission of more than 100 plant viruses including tomato yellow leaf curl, cucurbit leaf crumple, and squash yellow vein mosaic (Jones 2003). There are multiple B. tabaci biotypes, 1 Received 28 December 2020; accepted for publication 31 January 2021. 2 Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, University of Georgia, Tifton, GA 31793, USA. 3 Corresponding author (email: mtoews@uga.edu). 1 Downloaded from http://meridian.allenpress.com/jes/article-pdf/57/1/1/2990099/i0749-8004-57-1-1.pdf by guest on 24 April 2024