A viruses and silverleaf whitefly can completely devastate cantaloupe crops, causing serious economic losses to growers. The California Melon Research Advisory Board (2003) lists the management and control of aphid-borne viruses and whitefly as a top pest-management research priority. At the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center (KREC), we studied the use of reflective plastic mulch and stra...

A highly sensitive one-step multiplex RT-PCR (OMRT-PCR) system with an internal plant gene control was developed to simultaneously detect single and mixed RNA DNA viral pathogens affecting watermelon squash in the Southeastern United States. Current methods rely on a singleplex detection for several viruses which is time-consuming large-scale field monitoring. The gene-specific primers one viru...

It is known that plant viruses can change the performance of their vectors. However, there have been no reports on whether or how a semipersistent plant virus manipulates the feeding behaviors of its whitefly vectors. Cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV) (genus Crinivirus, family Closteroviridae) is an emergent plant virus in many Asian countries and is transmitted specifically by B and Q bi...

The mild climate of the Salinas Valley, CA lends itself well to a diverse agricultural industry. However, the diversity of weeds, crops and insect and fungal vectors also provide favorable conditions for plant virus disease development. This paper considers the incidence and management of several plant viruses that have caused serious epidemics and been significant in the agricultural developme...

Vector-borne pathogens influence host characteristics relevant to host-vector contact, increasing pathogen transmission and survival. Previously, we demonstrated that infection with Turnip mosaic virus, a member of one of the largest families of plant-infecting viruses, increases vector attraction and reproduction on infected hosts. These changes were due to a single viral protein, NIa-Pro. Her...

Laboratory bioassays were done to determine the level of resistance to endosulfan, cypermethrin, deltamethrin, methamidophos, profenofos and chlorpyrifos in field populations of cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae (L). Comparison between Multan and Kabirwala strains revealed that the level of resistance in Multan strain was comparatively higher to methamidophos, profenofos and chlorpyrifos as ...