This travel sponsorship supported the ACRI visit of Dr Naranjo, who whilst visiting Australia in late November 2016 to attend the annual conference of the Australian Entomological Society. CRDC and CSIRO have supported Steve Naranjo, USDA to visit and support review of recent research. Dr Naranjo is an internationally recognised expert in IPM in cotton systems. In particular, he has extensive skills in research and management of silver leaf whitefly and was one of the architects of the approach used to manage this pest in Arizona. He has been instrumental in assisting that production system to develop an effective management system that has restored Arizona’s reputation for producing non-sticky cotton. Dr Naranjo co-authored with Dr Richard Sequeira a publication which used extensive whitefly distribution data to arrive at a scientifically valid sampling protocol, the basis for the system used in Australia.

Silverleaf whitefly has been identified as a high priority issue for the Australian cotton industry. The aim of this meeting was to review current SLW research as well as experiences with monitoring and management practices to inform R&D direction and prioritise extension messages for SLW.