Influence of Caging and Transferring Techniques on Aphid Mortality and Virus Transmission

Abstract

Various methods of caging and transferring aphids used in the investigation of plant virus transmission were compared as to their effect on transmission efficiency and vector mortality. The methods of caging compared had no significantly measurable effect on the ability of the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulz.), to transmit sugar beet yellow-net virus. Darkening leaf cages by wrapping with aluminum foil did not reduce aphid mortality, nor did it increase sugar beet yellows virus transmission. None of the four methods used to transfer insects seemed to increase mortality, Survival of test aphids was found to be differentially affected by the host plant species used in the feeding sequences. Plants used were sugar beet, Beta vulgaris L., and smooth leaf mustard, Brassica juncea (Coss.).