Abstract
Every 2 weeks during the 2001–2003 growing seasons, 10–20 highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum ‘Berkeley’ (Ericaceae), trap plants were placed in two commercial fields in which the proportion of plants infected with Blueberry scorch virus (BIScV, all strain BC-2) ranged from 0.14 to 0.54. In 2003, Nicotiana occidentalis (Solanaceae) trap plants were placed in the same fields. After 2 weeks of field exposure, trap plants were removed and tested for BIScV for up to 5 years using serological and molecular assays. Aphids were sampled from trap plants, surrounding crop plants, and yellow-pan water traps. Nine of 938 trap plants (eight blueberry and one N. occidentalis) became infected with BIScV strain BC-2 between 13 May and 23 July. No transmission was recorded outside this time period. In three blueberry trap plants, BIScV was detected 2 years after field exposure. On crop plants, 0.4–7.0 aphids per leaf terminal were observed at peak density in June or July. In water traps, 35.6 (range 1–102) alatae were caught per month from May to July. The proportion of trap plants becoming infected during the transmission period was 0.0–0.04 depending on year and field. The data support the view that BIScV is not efficiently transmitted by aphids. The number of N. occidentalis trap plants that became infected was similar to blueberry, but aphid species infesting the two plants differed.
Published Version
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