Preference of Green Peach Aphids for Virus-Infected Sugar beet Leaves12

Abstract

In detached-leaf experiments, apterous Myzus persicae (Sulzer) preferred yellows-infected leaves to symptom less, mosaic-infected, or curly-top-infected leaves. However, apterous aphids appeared to move at random to healthy, mosaic-infected, or yellows-infected whole plants. Twice as many alate aphids were found on yellows-infected whole plants 24 hours after release as on healthy or mosaic-infected plants, but no marked differences were found in numbers of alate aphids on healthy, mosaic-infected, and yellows-infected whole plants 48–96 hours after release. In all tests aphids appeared to avoid curly top-infected leaves or plants.