The correlation between the transmission of passionfruit ringspot virus and populations of flying aphids, 1974
Abstract
The percentage of passionfruit ringspot virus infection in batches of young passionfruit seedlings exposed in the open in a plot of diseased fully grown passionfruits was significantly correlated with the number of winged Aphis spiraecola trapped in yellow watertrays during the time of exposure. Of all aphids trapped, 98% were A. spiraecola, colonizing predominantly Eupatorium conyzoides (Compositae). This plant was found colonized everywhere in the forest area of Ivory Coast, which emphasizes the importance of A. spiraecola as a potential virus vector in this part of Africa. The numbers of trapped A. spiraecola were positively correlated with the preceding rainfall in mm with an interval of two weeks before the assessment. The influence of a period of rainfall lasted four to six weeks.