Aphids and Whitefly Infested citrus of Westren Crete Greece

Citrus fruits represent one of the most important fruit productions worldwide. However, citrus suffers from numerous constraints. Whiteflies and aphids are among the causes of decline in the production of citrus. Although outbreaks of whiteflies in citrus orchards have been recorded locally, nothing is known about their field population biology in Crete. Concerning aphids, earlier studies reported that there are nine aphid species that infest citrus trees in Greece. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have been conducted for the aphid species composition and seasonal occurrence in citrus orchards after the detection of CTV (citrus tristeza closterovirus) in Greece. The aim of the present study was to monitor the population of whitefly species in a citrus orchard in Chania, an important citrus production region of Greece, as well as to evaluate the aphid relative abundance, in citrus orchards where virus-infected trees with CTV has been found. Monitoring of the populations of aphids and whiteflies is necessary for control decisions in IPM mainly early In the period before The Establishment of their natural enemies.