author(s)
Prabhulinga T, Rameash K, Madhu TN, Shah Vivek and Ruchika Suke

abstract
To comprehend the reasons for the cotton Whitefly Bemisia tabaci outbreak in north India, a computer based ecological niche modelling, MAXENT approach was attempted to predict the potential distribution, suitable habitat and the favourable environmental factors. The analysis showed that the climatic variables viz., mean temperature of warmest quarter (Bio10) and Precipitation seasonality (Bio15) contributes 32 and 23.7 per cent with 79 and 1.2 per cent permutation importance respectively for potential distribution of whitefly. These are the two major climatic contributors were responsible for the potential distribution of the pest in cotton growing states viz., Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan of north India in 2016. The study was conducted during 2016 cotton cropping season (April-October). The assessment of the pest risk by the MaxEnt analysis provided the information for the pest management decision making; which helps to develop the cost effective pest management strategies and to prevent the spread of domestic quarantine CLCuD by controlling the vector by suitable integrated pest management strategies.