Search Results
The ability of 32P-labeled transcribed cRNA probes to detect tomato ringspot virus (TmRSV) RNA in nucleic acid extracts from roots, bark, and leaves of nectarine (Prunus persica [L.] Batsch) trees with the Prunus stem-pitting disease was assessed and compared with detection of TmRSV antigen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the same tissues. Neither TmRSV-specific nucleic acid nor antigen was detected in nectarine leaf tissue. ELISA detected TmRSV antigen in root extracts from 71% of the diseased trees, while dot hybridization detected virus-specific nucleic acid in 18% of the same samples. However, ELISA detected TmRSV antigen in only 47% of bark extracts; whereas TmRSV-specific nucleic acid was detected in 100% of the bark extracts from samples collected at or near the soil line. When nucleic acid extracts from bark were prepared from various locations on diseased trees and tested for TmRSV-specific nucleic acid by dot hybridization, there was an almost perfect correlation between the presence of stem-pitting symptoms and the detection of TmRSV nucleic acid. Detection of TmRSV RNA from the bark tissue of rootstock suckers from TmRSV-infected `Delicious'/MM.lO6 apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) trees was unsuccessful using dot hybridization. The viral RNA, however, was usually detected in either leaf or root tissue of these same trees.
The trunk diameter of ‘Valencia’ sweet orange trees tested with seven insect control strategies was measured annually for the first 5 years after planting. Yield data (marketable fruit per tree) were collected after the fourth and fifth years. The insect control treatments were Admire (imidacloprid) applied at 12, 6, 3, or 2-month intervals; Temik (aldicarb) applied annually; Meta-Systox-R (oxydemeton-methyl) applied annually; or no insect control. Trunk diameter was significantly increased by Temik treatment at 1 and 2 years after planting. Six annual applications of Admire (at 2-month intervals) significantly increased trunk diameter 2 years after planting. None of the other treatments affected trunk diameters compared with the control. There were no trunk diameter differences among treatments at 3, 4, or 5 years after planting. Both Temik applied annually and Admire applied every other month or every 3 months significantly increased yield.
Rabbiteye (Vaccinium ashei Reade) and southern highbush (mostly V. corymbosum L.) type blueberry selections were evaluated in regional trials at five locations. Entry × location interactions (E × L) were significant for all traits in the rabbiteye type and all except plant productivity, plant volume, Julian date of 50% ripe fruit, and berry weight at harvest 3 in the southern highbush type. Despite the significant interactions, selection FL80-11 and `Gulfcoast' were the earliest flowering rabbiteye and southern highbush entry, respectively, at each location. Significant E × L for plant volume and yield suggests that adaptation to the local environment is important in the selection of potential cultivars. Fruit quality traits appear less affected by environment than fruit production traits for the entries tested.
A trough system was developed to study rates of plant virus transmission by plant parasitic nematodes. Perforated plumber's polyvinyl chloride pipe, 5 cm in diameter, was cut into 48-cm lengths, split longitudinally, and fashioned into troughs to hold soil and common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale Webber) transplants. The first plant in each trough was infected with tomato ringspot virus (TmRSV), followed by 10 uninfected plants spaced at 4-cm intervals. The soil contained a high concentration of Xiphinema rivesi (199 per 100 cm3), a low concentration (16 per 100 cm3), or none. Plants were assayed biweekly for TmRSV. After 42 weeks, transmission rates between the low and high concentrations of nematodes were not significantly different. The subirrigated trough system provided excellent soil conditions for plant growth and sufficient nematode survival to detect virus transmission through 36 weeks.
Population density of citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella Stainton (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), was monitored in a Florida citrus grove for 5 years by scouting weekly for larval-induced mines (leafminer-created tunnels in the leaves) in a replicated citrus plot treated with seven insect control regimes: Admire (imidacloprid) applied at 12, 6, 3, or 2-month intervals; Temik (aldicarb) applied annually; Metasystox-R (oxydemeton-methyl) applied annually; or no insect control. Leafminer populations were highest during the warmer months (April to September) and lowest during the cooler months (November to March). Populations peaked during June in all 5 years monitored. Trees treated with Temik or Metasystox-R had the same number of mines as the untreated controls. A biannual treatment with Admire reduced leafminer damage (number of mines) all 5 years compared with the controls. Additional Admire applications further reduced damage during some, but not all, years. A single application of Admire significantly reduced mines in 3 of the 5 years.
The effectiveness of seven different aphid control regimes in delaying movement of decline (DI) and nondecline (NDI) inducing isolates of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) into a CTV-free sweet orange scion on sour orange rootstock block was monitored annually for 5 years beginning in 1999, 2 years after the introduction of the brown citrus aphid (BrCA) into the region. After 5 years, the mean percentages of infection with DI CTV were 19, 19, 17, 29, 23, 19, or 14 for trees treated annually with imidocloprid, every 6 months with imidocloprid, every 3 months with imidocloprid, every 2 months with imidocloprid, annually with Temik, annually with Meta Systox-R, or untreated, respectively. The mean percentages of infection (after 5 years) with only NDI isolates of CTV for the seven treatments were 40, 31, 33, 38, 38, 38, or 33. There was no significant difference (after 5 years) among either the DI or NDI CTV treatment means. The overall 5-year infection percentage for DI CTV (20%) was somewhat lower than that reported before the introduction of the BrCA (27%) (11). Aphid densities (Toxoptera citricidus and Aphis spiraecola) varied considerably from year to year. Good aphid control was achieved with all four imidocloprid treatments, but not with Temik or Meta Systox-R. The level of aphid control did not influence overall CTV infection percentages.
The population densities of the brown citrus aphid (BrCA) (Toxoptera citricidus Kirkaldy) and the spirea aphid (SA) Aphis spiraecola Patch were monitored by scouting weekly for 6 years in a replicated citrus plot treated with 7 insect control regimes: Admire (imidacloprid) applied at 12, 6, 3, or 2 month intervals; Temik applied annually; Meta-Systox-R applied annually; or no insect control. The numbers of both aphid species varied greatly from month to month and year to year. The brown citrus aphid was normally only detected in the fall (August through December) with populations peaking in September, October, or December depending on the year. The spirea aphid could be detected throughout the year during years when overall populations were high. Spirea aphid populations often peaked both in the spring and fall. Annual applications of Temik or Metasystox were ineffective in reducing aphid populations. Generally, all four Admire treatment regimes controlled aphids, although at least 2 annual Admire treatments per year were required to control the spirea aphid during some years.
Silverleaf whitefly (SLW) (Bemisia argentifolii Bellows and Perring) feeding has been associated with development of tomato irregular ripening (TIR) symptoms. Four dwarf cultivars of cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) were infested with adult SLW to observe oviposition preference, tolerance and TIR symptom development. Oviposition preference was observed at low SLW population. Florida Petite was the most preferred and Micro-Tom the least preferred cultivar, with Florida Lanai and Florida Basket intermediate. Each cultivar exhibited TIR symptoms associated with feeding by the SLW. TIR fruit symptoms were expressed as longitudinal red streaks with yellow, green, pink or red blotches externally, and white, yellow or green tissue internally. External TIR symptoms ranged from 32% (Micro-Tom) to 82% (Florida Basket). However, external symptoms disappeared from 34% (Florida Lanai) to 56% (Micro-Tom) of the fruits during ripening. SLW infested plants had 82% (Florida Lanai) to 99% (Florida Basket) of fruits with internal white tissue regardless of external symptoms. Tomatoes with TIR symptoms rarely ripened to a mature red, and sometimes had empty locules, were smaller in size and were seedless.