Improved control of potato virus Y by mineral oil plus the pyrethroid cypermethrin applied electrostatically

Abstract

Field potato plants sprayed with a mixture of a pyrethroid (cypermethrin at 40 g a.i./ha) and a paraffinic oil (Sunoco Sunspray 7E at 7 l /ha) were colonized by fewer aphids and were less frequently diseased by potato virus Y (PVY) than unsprayed plants or plants sprayed with either cypermethrin or the oil alone; aphids given access to leaves of PVY-infected field plants sprayed with the mixture were also less likely to transmit PVY to laboratory test plants than aphids given access to leaves of plants sprayed with either chemical alone, or to untreated leaves. When alate aphids were confined above virus-infected and healthy plants, combined oil and cypermethrin treatment also gave greater protection against virus inoculation than either chemical alone. Electrostatic charging of spray droplets increased chemical deposits on field plants, especially when the plants were small and on upper leaves. These greater deposits improved control of PVY by the oil and the cypermethrin, individually or in combination, and enhanced the aphicidal action of the cypermethrin.