Whiteflies are one of the biggest causes of worry for farmers across the world. They cause damage by directly feeding on the plant or crop and are also carriers of plant viruses. Among the numerous species of Whiteflies, two are known to be most dangerous, the Glasshouse Whitefly and the Tobacco Whitefly.
Whiteflies are tiny moth like creatures, not more than a couple of millimeters, which are generally found to infect young leaves of plants and crops. They are a very common pest and are known to infect over 200 varieties of crops including tomato, chilly, lady’s finger, brinjal, tobacco, cotton, cassava, pumpkin, cucumber and alfalfa.
John L. Capinera states in his ‚”Encyclopedia of Entomology” that whiteflies are responsible for more than 50% reduction in yield on cassava crop in the Americas, Africa and to some extent in Asia.
A whitefly may take almost a year to reach its adult state after it hatches from the egg. It continues to feed on the sap of the plant with its toxic saliva damaging the plant. Further, whiteflies excrete honeydew which leads to formation of molds.
Over the years, scientists have invented many pesticides but getting rid of whiteflies has been a challenge because whiteflies rapidly gain resistance to chemical pesticides.
According to Pest Products, there is no single effective whitefly pesticide because some products can kill only adult whiteflies while some kill the whiteflies at the nymph stage and the pupa stage. Treating the plant with multiple insecticides is neither good for the plant nor for any animals or pets around.
Home remedies are also used for whitefly control however their application is limited to garden plants and not for agricultural crops
Janki Devi, a 57 year old housewife residing in rural Bihar in India has developed an effective herbal remedy for control of whiteflies. Although she did not study beyond the 4th class, she is an inquisitive person and learnt about herbs from interacting with other people.
She was disturbed by the whitefly attacks and experimented with several herbs till she struck upon the right formulation which is made by boiling the leaves of the Kanail (Thevetia peruviana (Pers.) K. Schum.) plant along with a local herb. The formulation is then sprayed on the crops twice a day once in a fortnight.
Laboratory tests done at Ahmedabad, India and experiences of other farmers have confirmed that Janki Devi’s innovative herbal preparation for whitefly control has the potential to lead whiteflies to their doomsday.
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