| Summary: | A combination of biological control and host plant resistance would be desirable for optimally controlling the greenhouse whitefly, <i>Trialeurodes vaporariorum</i> in tomato crops. Whitefly settlement preference, oviposition, and survivorship were evaluated on ABL 10-4 and ‘Moneymaker’, two nearly-isogenic tomato lines with, and without, whitefly-resistance traits based on type IV leaf glandular trichomes derived from the tomato wild species <i>Solanum pimpinellifolium</i>, respectively. Significantly reduced preference of <i>T. vaporariorum</i> adult whiteflies for ABL 10-4 leaves was observed. Moreover, <i>T. vaporariorum</i> altered its abaxial–adaxial settling performance on leaves of ABL 10-4 plants. A significantly lower tendency to settle on abaxial leaf surface was observed in ABL 10-4 compared to Moneymaker plants. Furthermore, <i>T. vaporariorum</i> deposited fewer eggs and exhibited a significantly reduced egg to adult survivorship in ABL 10-4 than in Moneymaker plants. Therefore, reduced fitness and distorted performance were observed for <i>T. vaporariorum</i> on ABL 10-4 tomato plants supporting that type IV leaf glandular trichomes might protect them from this pest and, indirectly, from the viruses it transmits.
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