USA
August 2026
Eating more vegetables may sound like a good health tip, but for one insect in the southeastern United States, this tip has caused multibillion-dollar losses in agriculture.
Whiteflies on Squash. (Photo by Shaker Kousik, ARS)
The whitefly, also known as the sweetpotato whitefly or the silverleaf whitefly, loves feasting on various vegetable crops including tomatoes, peppers, squash, cucumbers, beans, eggplant, watermelon, and cabbage. It also likes field crops such as potato, peanut, soybean, and cotton too. Talk about having a healthy and varied palate!
While the whitefly’s love for vegetables sounds like a parent’s dream come true, the insect transmits viruses, including Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV), one of the most damaging pathogens of tomatoes and a serious threat to the tomato industry. Florida is a major producer of tomatoes, and the beloved red fruit had a reported $331 million production value in the state in 2024.
To help maintain sustainable vegetable production for farmers, ARS researchers from the U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, FL, and research collaborators are trying a new approach to predicting the whitefly’s populations so farmers can prepare for future growing seasons.
Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV). (Photo by Scott Adkins, ARS)
In a research study, researchers used satellite imagery and machine learning to identify whitefly movement in vegetable crops in Southwest Florida in near real-time. Whitefly populations and virus infections in crops were scouted during the four growing season study. They also determined how temperature, rainfall, and nearby crops affect virus spreads as well as how whiteflies move and spread viruses between fields.
“This study introduces a robust framework that integrates satellite-based crop identification with pest and disease risk profiling to support areawide pest control efforts,” said Clive Bock, ARS Research Plant Pathologist. “If you can control the whitefly, then you can control the virus.”
The key findings include:
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Satellite vegetable crop identification worked well, especially later in the season, with accuracy often above 80%.
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Whiteflies and TYLCV showed population clustering in foci, usually up to 1,750 meters, but later in the season sometimes up to 5,000 meters.
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Warm weather increases whitefly population numbers and resulting virus spread.
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Rainfall has little effect on whitefly populations and virus spread.
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Nearby vegetable fields influence pest movement later in the season. Whiteflies can move up to 9,000 meters between vegetable crops.
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Both pests and viruses peak between February and April each year.
Infected tomato plants (TYLCV). (Photo by Scott Adkins, ARS)
According to Bock, the findings will help inform researchers and stakeholders on developing best practices in areawide management, a coordinated pest management strategy across large areas where multiple stakeholders work together to apply mitigation measures in managing pest populations. Areawide management offers a more environmentally friendly approach as it can make pest control more efficient, reduce risk of pesticide resistance, and better protect crops.
“Knowing where and when whiteflies are likely to spread each season can help farmers plan treatments early, plant virus-resistant crop varieties, and make more precise insecticide applications to prevent yield loss,” said Bock.
In the future, researchers will refine and extend the model for whiteflies and study other insects that transmit viruses impacting agriculture across the country.
The research was done in collaboration with stakeholder groups Glades Crop Care and Regrow (FluoroSat), and the U.S. Vegetable Laboratory, the University of Florida, and North Carolina State University’s Center for Integrated Pest Management, and Hendry County Extension Service. The research was funded in part by the ARS Areawide Pest Management (AWPM) program.
“We fully support the need for Area Wide Pest Management of whitefly and other vegetable virus vectors in the southeastern U.S. areawide management allows control before an outbreak of whitefly and the vegetable viruses they transmit, occurs,” said Charles Mellinger, Director of Technical Services, at Glades Crop Care.
“The approach stands to save millions of dollars in crop yield, and will benefit from more precise insecticide use, reduced insecticide resistance risk, with associated environmental and health benefits.”
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