Squash silverleaf disorder and whitefly ( Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 ) infestation: Implications for plant disease management in a changing climate

Abstract

Climate warming over the next century is expected to have a large impact on the interactions between pests and their hosts in agriculture. Vector‐borne diseases are sensitive to warming or climate change because temperature changes can alter vector development rates, shift their geographical distribution, or alter transmission dynamics. One clear recent example of this is squash silverleaf disorder (SLD), a physiological disease of cucurbits resulting from feeding by Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 (silverleaf whitefly, SLW). SLD is marked by silvering of the leaves of Cucurbita spp. resulting in decreased photosynthetic efficiency, loss of vigour, and thus declining fruit production. When SLW infestation occurs in combination with drought stress, the severity of SLD dramatically increases. In this review, we summarize the pathology of SLD on crops, the available studies both phenotypically and genetically characterizing SLD in Cucurbita spp., and also the available SLD management strategies. Finally, we identify major research questions that remain to be answered in order to ameliorate the increasing challenge that this disorder presents to sustainable vegetable crop production.