Occurrence of Bondar’s Nesting Whitefly, Paraleyrodes bondari (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), on cassava in Uganda

Abstract

Cassava is a valued calorific source to millions of Africans who eat it daily and a vital staple for their food security. One of the key constraints to this crop is white flies which are both a vector of viral diseases and a direct pest. Although the African cassava white fly is known to cause physical damage on cassava with considerable tuberous yield loss, a recent white fly outbreak caused unusually severe damage, which prompted the current reported investigation. Molecular identification of white fly adults sampled from the affected cassava field revealed the presence of a new white fly species, Paraleyrodes bondari. This communication is the first report of the occurrence of P. bondari on cassava in Uganda.