Abstract

India's reliance on agriculture and globalization-driven trade has led to the unintentional import of various plant species, diseases, and insect pests, despite strict quarantine measures. These invasive species pose a significant threat to the nation’s biodiversity and biosecurity by outcompeting native species due to the absence of natural enemies in the new environment. Pests like Leptocybe invasa, Phenacoccus solenopsis, and Aceria guerreronis have already invaded India. The Rugose spiraling whitefly (RSW), Aleurodicus rugioperculatus, first reported in Kerala in 2016, has spread across southern India, harming plants like coconuts and mangoes and encouraging sooty mold growth.