Kerry Sheridan
A tiny, invasive whitefly that is resistant to pesticides and carries crop-devastating viruses has been found outdoors in the United States for the first time, raising concerns among fruit and vegetable growers. The Q-biotype whitefly turned up in April in the heavily manicured gardens of an affluent neighborhood in south Florida's Palm Beach County, where landscapers were spraying the flowers and shrubs regularly with insecticides. Its discovery outdoors comes more than a decade after it was first found in a US retail nursery in Arizona. Since 2005, the whitefly has also been found in about two dozen US states, but only in greenhouses.
It is already considered a major invasive pest worldwide...........While modern neonicotinoids -- a type of insecticide -- may be more effective than previous generations, they are also blamed for harming bees and other pollinators that are necessary for healthy crops. (Editor's Note: This has now been proven false. RK)
And given the toughness of this whitefly, natural or organic solutions are not likely to work, Osborne said.....To Read More...
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