Effects of Tomato chlorosis virus on the performance of its key vector, Bemisia tabaci, in China

Tomato chlorosis virus (ToCV), which is a newly emerged and rapidly spreading plant virus in China, has seriously reduced tomato production and quality over the past several years. In this study, the effect of ToCV on the demography of the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci biotype Q (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae), fed on infected and healthy tomato plants was evaluated using the age-stage, two-sex life table. When reared on ToCV-infected tomato plants, the fecundity, length of oviposition period and female adult longevity of B.tabaci biotype Q decreased significantly, while the pre-adult duration significantly increased compared to controls reared on healthy tomatoes. Consequently, the intrinsic rate of increase (r) and finite of increase () of B.tabaci biotype Q on ToCV-infected tomato plants significantly decreased compared to those on healthy tomatoes. Population projection predicted that a population of B.tabaci biotype Q fed on ToCV-infected tomatoes increases slower than on healthy plants. These findings demonstrated that ToCV infection decreased the performance of B.tabaci biotype Q on tomato plants.