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TOMATO SPOTTED WILT, TOMATO - USA (FLORIDA & GEORGIA) ********************************* A ProMED-mail post <http://www.promedmail.org> ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org> Date: 8 Oct 2003 From: ProMED-mail<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Source: Southeast Farm Press, Sept 12, 2003 [edited] Tomato spotted wilt virus targeted ---------------------------------- During the past 2 decades, TSWV has spread around the world by thrips [small insects that feed on plants], causing very high losses to a variety of vegetable, ornamental, and agronomic crops. According to Steve Olson, a professor at University of Florida's North Florida Research & Education in Quincy, TSWV epidemics have been troublesome throughout the southern United States, cutting yields by 20-30 percent on tomatoes. Tomato and pepper crops in Florida and Georgia, valued at about $1 billion annually, have been hit hard, as have peanut crops. Leaves of TSWV-infected plants turn brown, purple, or bronze and stem tips are frequently killed. Infected tomato fruits show spots and rings, and are unmarketable. The virus is transmitted from plant to plant almost exclusively by several species of thrips. The western flower thrips (_Frankliniella occidentalis_) and the tobacco thrips (_F. fusca_) are major species in Florida. Until recently, growers sprayed toxic, broad-spectrum insecticides in an attempt to control thrips, but the chemicals do not prevent virus transmission. The solution, according to researchers at the Quincy center, is to use a variety of new, environmentally friendly strategies known as integrated pest management (IPM). IPM includes new cultural practices, natural insecticides, bio- control agents or natural predators, and a new treatment that boosts the plant's resistance system against viral and bacterial pathogens. According to Tim Momol, an assistant professor of plant pathology at the Quincy center, incidence of TSWV infection in tomato has been reduced by as much as 75 percent, using a new plastic bed cover that reflects UV light and repels thrips. He said that many producers have switched to the UV-reflective mulch, boosting tomato yields by as much as 600 (25-pound) boxes/acre and increasing profits by as much as $4000/acre. Although the reflective mulch costs an extra $200/acre, yield increases and higher returns justify its use. According to Joe Funderburk, a professor of entomology at the Quincy center, a recent survey showed that about 30 percent of the growers in north Florida and Georgia are using the UV- reflective mulch, and its use is expanding to other production areas in the Southeast in 2003. He says a natural insecticide called spinosad, which poses little threat to field workers or the environment, also is helping growers control thrips on tomatoes. And, a new resistance-boosting treatment, which is marketed under the Actigard (R)* trademark, is now being used by about 45 percent of all tomato growers in the region. [*Reference to this product does not constitute an endorsement by ProMED-mail. - CopyEd.PG] Olson, Momol, and Funderburk developed and promoted the new IPM control measures, and the researchers are collaborating internationally so that the program is adopted in other countries. [Byline:Chuck Woods] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ProMED-mail <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [This piece reports an interesting application of IPM. Spinosad is a mixture of 2 of the most active, naturally occurring metabolites (spinosyns A and D) produced by the soil-inhabiting actinomycete _Saccharopolyspora spinosa_. They have been registered by EPA to control a variety of insects. Upon ingestion of the spinosyns, death follows due to extremely rapid excitation of the insect nervous system. - Mod.DH] [see also: 2002 ---- Tomato spotted wilt, tomato - USA (North Carolina) 20020622.4565 Tomato spotted wilt, tomato - (USA) Virginia 20020620.4545 2001 ---- Tomato spotted wilt tospovirus, soybean - Iran 20011229.3130 Tomato spotted wilt, peanut - Iran 20011220.3069 Tomato spotted wilt disease, tomato - Kenya 20011109.2778 2000 ---- Tomato spotted wilt tospovirus, crops - USA (Georgia) 20000617.0989 Tomato spotted wilt tospovirus - Europe 20000302.0286] .......................................dh/pg/jw *##########################################################* ProMED-mail makes every effort to verify the reports that are posted, but the accuracy and completeness of the information, and of any statements or opinions based thereon, are not guaranteed. The reader assumes all risks in using information posted or archived by ProMED-mail. ISID and its associated service providers shall not be held responsible for errors or omissions or held liable for any damages incurred as a result of use or reliance upon posted or archived material. ************************************************************ * * * Please support the 2003 ProMED-mail Internet-a-thon! * * http://www.isid.org/netathon2003.shtml * * * ************************************************************ Visit ProMED-mail's web site at <http://www.promedmail.org>. Send all items for posting to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (NOT to an individual moderator). If you do not give your full name and affiliation, it may not be posted. Send commands to subscribe/unsubscribe, get archives, help, etc. to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For assistance from a human being send mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ############################################################ ############################################################
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