The Effects of Planting Date and Insecticide Treatments on the Incidence of High Plains Disease in Corn

Virus Diseases of Cereal and Oilseed Crops in Australia: Current Position and Future Challenges

This review summarizes research on virus diseases of cereals and oilseeds in Australia since the 1950s. All viruses known to infect the diverse range of cereal and oilseed crops grown in the continent's temperate, Mediterranean, subtropical and tropical cropping regions are included. Viruses that occur commonly and have potential to cause the greatest seed yield and quality losses are described in detail, focusing on their biology, epidemiology and management. These are: barley yellow dwarf virus, cereal yellow dwarf virus and wheat streak mosaic virus in wheat, barley, oats, triticale and rye; Johnsongrass mosaic virus in sorghum, maize, sweet corn and pearl millet; turnip yellows virus and turnip mosaic virus in canola and Indian mustard; tobacco streak virus in sunflower; and cotton bunchy top virus in cotton. The currently less important viruses covered number nine infecting nine cereal crops and 14 infecting eight oilseed crops (none recorded for rice or linseed). Brief background information on the scope of the Australian cereal and oilseed industries, virus epidemiology and management and yield loss quantification is provided. Major future threats to managing virus diseases effectively include damaging viruses and virus vector species spreading from elsewhere, the increasing spectrum of insecticide resistance in insect and mite vectors, resistance-breaking virus strains, changes in epidemiology, virus and vectors impacts arising from climate instability and extreme weather events, and insufficient industry awareness of virus diseases. The pressing need for more resources to focus on addressing these threats is emphasized and recommendations over future research priorities provided.

Management of the Wheat Curl Mite and Wheat Streak Mosaic Virus With Insecticides on Spring and Winter Wheat

The wheat curl mite (WCM, Aceria tosichella, Keifer) is an eriophyid mite species complex that causes damage to cereal crops in the Northern Great Plains by feeding damage and through the transmission of plant viruses, such as wheat streak mosaic virus. Insecticide treatments were evaluated in the greenhouse and field for efficacy at managing the WCM complex on wheat. Treatments tested were carbamates, organophosphates, pyrethroids, a neonicotinoid seed treatment, mite growth inhibitors, and Organic Materials Review Institute-approved biocontrols, soaps, and oils. Treatment with carbamates, organophosphates, and pyrethroids decreased WCM in greenhouse trials compared with untreated controls 14 days after infestation. The seed treatment, mite growth inhibitors, and organic pesticides did not reduce WCM populations effectively and consistently. The timing of application was tested using a sulfur solution as the experimental treatment. Treating plants with sulfur seven days after mite infestation reduced mites compared with the untreated control. In contrast, prophylactically applied sulfur and sulfur applied 14 days after mite infestation were not effective. When tested under field conditions with plots infested with viruliferous mites, there was no yield difference detected between untreated control plots and plots sprayed with insecticides. Select carbamates, organophosphates, and pyrethroids have a potential for use in greenhouse mite management when appropriate.

Wheat streak mosaic virus: a century old virus with rising importance worldwide

Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) causes wheat streak mosaic, a disease of cereals and grasses that threatens wheat production worldwide. It is a monopartite, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA virus and the type member of the genus Tritimovirus in the family Potyviridae. The only known vector is the wheat curl mite (WCM, Aceria tosichella), recently identified as a species complex of biotypes differing in virus transmission. Low rates of seed transmission have been reported. Infected plants are stunted and have a yellow mosaic of parallel discontinuous streaks on the leaves. In the autumn, WCMs move from WSMV-infected volunteer wheat and other grass hosts to newly emerged wheat and transmit the virus which survives the winter within the plant, and the mites survive as eggs, larvae, nymphs or adults in the crown and leaf sheaths. In the spring/summer, the mites move from the maturing wheat crop to volunteer wheat and other grass hosts and transmit WSMV, and onto newly emerged wheat in the fall to which they transmit the virus, completing the disease cycle. WSMV detection is by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) or quantitative RT-PCR (RT-qPCR). Three types of WSMV are recognized: A (Mexico), B (Europe, Russia, Asia) and D (USA, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Turkey, Canada). Resistance genes Wsm1, Wsm2 and Wsm3 have been identified. The most effective, Wsm2, has been introduced into several wheat cultivars. Mitigation of losses caused by WSMV will require enhanced knowledge of the biology of WCM biotypes and WSMV, new or improved virus detection techniques, the development of resistance through traditional and molecular breeding, and the adaptation of cultural management tactics to account for climate change.

Control of virus diseases in maize

Diseases caused by viruses are found throughout the maize-growing regions of the world and can cause significant losses for producers. In this review, virus diseases of maize and the pathogens that cause them are discussed. Factors leading to the spread of disease and measures for disease control are reviewed, as is our current knowledge of the genetics of virus resistance in this important crop.

Potential new sources of wheat curl mite resistance in wheat to prevent the spread of yield-reducing pathogens

The wheat curl mite (WCM), Aceria tosichella Keifer (Trombidiformes: Eriophyidae), is a major pest in cropping regions of the world and is recognised as the primary vector of several yield-reducing pathogens, primarily affecting wheat. Management of WCM is complicated due to several aspects of the mite's biology and ecology; however, commercially viable mite resistant wheat varieties may offer practical long-term management options. Unfortunately, mite populations have adapted to previously identified sources of resistance, highlighting the need for further sources of resistance and the value of stacking different resistances to give greater degrees and longevity of control. In this study we assessed the susceptibility of 42 wheat-derived genotypes to mite population growth using a new experimental method that overcomes methodological limitations of previous studies. Experimental wheat lines included a variety of wheat genotypes, related Triticeae species, wheat-alien chromosome amphiploids, and chromosome addition or substitution lines. From these we identify new promising sources of WCM resistance associated with Thinopyrum intermedium, Th. ponticum and Hordeum marinum chromosomes. More specifically we identify group 1J and 5J chromosomes of the L3 and L5 wheat-Th. intermedium addition lines as new sources of resistance that could be exploited to transfer resistance onto homoeologous wheat chromosomes. This study offers new methods for reliable in situ estimations of mite abundance on cereal plants, and new sources of WCM resistance that may assist management of WCM and associated viruses in wheat.

A new eriophyid mite-borne membrane-enveloped virus-like complex isolated from plants

A decade ago, a new mite-transmitted disease was described on wheat (Triticum aesativum) and maize (Zea mays) that due to its geographical location was referred to as High Plains Disease (HPD). To determine the etiology, we established colonies of HPD pathogen-transmitting eriophyid wheat curl mites (Aceria tosichella) on wheat plants for maintenance of a continuous source of infected material. Analyses of nucleic acid obtained from infected plants showed the presence of HPD-specific RNAs ranging from 1.5 to 8 kilobases, but comparisons between the sequence of cDNAs and the databases did not reveal any clear identity with known viruses. We demonstrate that a diagnostic HPD-specific 32-kDa protein that accumulates in plants is encoded by a small RNA species (RNA-s). Upon infestation of upper wheat parts with viruliferous mites, the RNA-s encoded protein becomes detectable within a few days in the roots, indicative of an effective virus-like mode of transport. Membranous particles, resembling those observed in thin sections of infected plants, were isolated and shown to envelope a thread-like ribonucleoprotein complex containing the RNA-s encoded 32-kDa protein. This complex was associated with single-stranded (-)-sense RNAs, whereas free (+)-sense RNA was only detected in total RNA of infected plants. Based on the collective properties, we conclude that HPD is caused by a newly emerged mite-borne virus, for which we propose the name Maize red stripe virus (MRStV).

Colony establishment and maintenance of the eriophyid wheat curl mite Aceria tosichella for controlled transmission studies on a new virus-like pathogen

High plains disease (HPD) is of serious economic concern for wheat and corn production, but little is known about the virus-like causal agent. In the field, HPD is often associated with Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) and both pathogens are transmitted by the same eriophyid wheat curl mite, Aceria tosichella Keifer. The objective of this study was to develop methods for establishing and maintaining HPD-transmitting wheat curl mite colonies for their use in studies on HPD. Towards this goal, mite colonies from a mixed infection source were separated into colonies either (i). not viruliferous; (ii). only transmitting WSMV; or (iii). only transmitting HPD. Maintenance of these colonies required strictly separated incubator facilities and adaptation of mite-suitable transfer techniques to permit frequent passages of mites to healthy plants. The established colonies provided reliable sources of infective material to study the progression of HPD and/or WSMV in plants using sensitive immuno-detection assays. In conclusion, we have developed reliable methods with a poorly studied arthropod vector to examine the biology and properties of a new virus-like disease.