Abstract: The present invention relates to compositions and methods for controlling psyllid infestation of plants. In particular, the present invention provides vectors comprising sequences designed to control psyllids by RNA interference (RNAi) and transgenic plants transformed with such vectors.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the control of pest infestation by inhibiting or reducing the expression of certain genes implicated in cotton leaf curl virus disease (CLCuD), by simultaneously targeting viral RNA involved in viral replication and movement. More specifically, the invention relates to a method for substantially simultaneously targeting the AC1 gene of a begomovirus and (2) the betasatellite and non-coding region. Strategies using small hairpin RNA (shRNA) constructs are described herein to achieve viral-mediated gene silencing, and an exemplary embodiment is disclosed, for targeting the replication-associated protein gene (AC1) and non-coding region found in numerous species and strains of the cotton leaf curl disease begomovirus complex, and a coding and adjacent non-coding region of the associated betasatellites.