author(s)
Bhargava CN, Poornima Matti, PS Tippannavar and Sanjay B Patil

abstract
Whiteflies are detrimental pests attacking wide range of agricultural crops predominantly in the tropics and subtropics. Aleurolobus barodensis Mask. is an important pest of sugarcane assuming serious proportions in the recent years in parts of North Karnataka. It damages the crop by sucking the sap from the under surface of the leaves, secreting honey dew leading to the development of sooty mould. It multiplies profusely under waterlogged and drought conditions. The new cropping systems, introduction of new genotypes and climatic variations paved way for emergence of some new pest problems like white grub, root borer, wire worms, sugarcane woolly aphid and whiteflies as additional threat in recent years. During 2019, outbreak of whitefly was observed in sugarcane area of Northern Karnataka and about 1000-1500 hectares of area crop was infested with whitefly. Current control strategies are mainly focused on chemical control which is uneconomical in sugarcane crop; hence, the study was carried out to record natural enemies of whiteflies in sugarcane ecosystem. During roving surveys, infested leaves were collected and kept for observation in laboratory. Two new parasitoids were noticed from the whitefly nymphs, viz., Encarsia muliyali (Mani) and Encarsia isaaci (Mani), among which Encarsia muliyali was recorded for the first time in Southern India and E. issaci was recorded for the first time in Karnataka. Laboratory studies indicated that 10-12 per cent parasitization by Encarsia issaci, whereas 8-10 per cent by Encarsia muliyali on sugarcane whitefly. These are the two major parasitoids that were observed in combating pest in sugarcane. Encouraging natural enemies by conservation and augmentative releases in sugarcane ecosystem without any chemical intervention resulted in the better management of sucking pests.