Bemisia tabaciBiotype Q Determined for the First Time on Poinsettia Crops in Finland and Sweden

Abstract

We surveyed 13 Finnish and 13 Swedish poinsettia greenhouses in 2006 for Bemisia tabaci biotype Q (currently B. tabaci Mediterranean) and determined the biotype status of B. tabaci populations with PCR followed by an RFLP assay. We collected approximately 100 adult whiteflies from yellow sticky traps or from plants and stored them in 80% ethanol until DNA extraction. Total nucleic acids of two to five whiteflies per sample were extracted using FTA cards or a modified Chelex method. We showed that biotype Q was present in 10 out of 13 whitefly samples from Finnish poinsettia greenhouses and in 12 out of the 13 Swedish poinsettia greenhouses sampled. We also determined the whitefly biotypes from yellow sticky traps. The common occurrence of insecticide-resistance-prone biotype Q whiteflies on poinsettia imported into Finland and Sweden, both protected zones for B. tabaci, emphasizes the importance of preserving the quarantine status of the pest to prevent permanent establishment. Nonetheless, the increasing occurrence of a resistance-prone biotype on imported plant material will complicate preservation of the protected zone status if solely insecticides are used to control the pest.

Advances in insect pest and disease monitoring and forecasting in horticulture

“…DNA can be extracted from trapped individuals with Flinders Technology Associates FTA®cards, that is, chemically treated filter papers designed for the collection, preservation and shipment of biological samples for subsequent DNA and RNA analysis. Lemmetty and Vänninen (2014) used them successfully for extracting DNA from Bemisia adults on sticky traps. Up to now, FTA cards for DNA extraction have been shown to work also for 11 other genera of insects including beetles, leafhoppers, flies, psyllids and aphids that were either frozen or glued on sticky traps (Pusz-Bochenska et al, 2020).…”

The Importance of Maintaining Protected Zone Status against Bemisia tabaci

“…Both the Mediterranean and MEAM1 species are also regularly intercepted and, as a result, undergo a process of eradication in Finland [ 24 ]. The majority of outbreaks in production places, having numbered 16‒83 per year since 2009, have been on poinsettia originating from a number of countries in the EU [ 25 ].…”