Methodology Guide

Numerous international and regional networks for whiteflies and WTV's currently exist (e.g. International Bemisia Working Group, GeminiNET, European Chapter of International Organization for Biological Control, the U.S. Research and Action Plan Network, Latin American Whitefly and Geminivirus Network). These networks serve as vehicles for information exchange. Calls have been made for increased international collaboration and coordination on whitefly (WF) and whitefly-transmitted virus (WTV) research (e.g. Thresh et al., 1994; van Lenteren, 1994). One objective of the CGIAR System-wide IPM project on Sustainable Integrated Management of Whiteflies as Pests and Vectors of Plant Viruses in the Tropics (Whitefly IPM Project) is to go beyond information exchange and to achieve a collaborative research agenda on whiteflies and WTVs. One of the most serious obstacles to research progress on whiteflies has been the diversity of research methodologies, to an extent that even similar data sets cannot be compared. For that reason, special emphasis has been placed on the standardization of methodologies for activities in Phase I of the Whitefly IPM Project.

• Standardized procedures
• Standardized Methodologies
• Survey Formats and Tools