Field Studies of Aphid Vectors of Sugarcane Mosaic and Methods of Control
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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1964 Field Studies of Aphid Vectors of Sugarcane Mosaic and Methods of Control. Konstantinos N. Komblas Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Komblas, Konstantinos N., "Field Studies of Aphid Vectors of Sugarcane Mosaic and Methods of Control." (1964). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 947. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/947 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This dissertation has been 64-13, 260 microfilmed exactly as received KOMBLAS, Konstantinos N ., 1928- FIELD STUDIES OF APHID VECTORS OF SUGARCANE MOSAIC AND METHODS OF CONTROL. Louisiana State University, Ph. D ., 1964 Entomology University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan FIELD STUDIES OF APHID VECTORS OF SUGARCANE MOSAIC AND METHODS OF CONTROL A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Entomology by Konstantinos N. Komblas B .S ., Agricultural College of Athens, 1954 M .S., Louisiana State University, 1962 May, 1964 AC KNO WLEDG MENTS The author would like to express his appreciation and gratitude to Dr. W. Henry Long, his major professor, for suggestions during this work and for assistance in the preparation of this manuscript; to Dr. H. B. Boudreaux for help in identification of aphids and for advice and sugges tions; to Dr. B. R. Farthing for helpful advice in statistical analyses; to Dr. L. Anzalone, Jr., Dr. M. S. Blum, Dr. N. C. England and Dr. L. D. Newsom, members of the writer’s advisory committee, for their helpful advice and suggestions; and to Dr. J. H. Roberts for his assistance with the photographic work. The writer is especially grateful to Dr. C. A. Schexnayder of Harry L. Laws and C o., Inc., Mr. J. H. Thibaut of the Evan Hall Sugar Cooperative, Inc. and to other employees of these companies for their cooperation and assistance in these studies. Thanks are also due to Miss M. Russell, U. S. D. A. Entomology Research Division for identification of one unknown species in Louisiana; to Mr. E. Concienne, for assistance in the field; and to Mrs. Jackie Lockwood, for typing the final copy of this dissertation. The writer is also grateful to his wife, Bette, for typing the original manuscript and for assistance and encouragement. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS P age ACKNOWLEDGMENT........................... ii TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................. iii LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES......................................, ...............................................................viii ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................... x INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 1 REVIEW OF LITERATURE........................................................................................ 3 Vectors of Sugarcane M osaic...................................................................... 3 Miscellaneous Studies of Sugarcane M osaic ...................................... 11 Aphid Transmission of Other Stylet-Borne Viruses ............................. 14 Traps for Aphid Population Studies ............................................................ 18 Control of Stylet-Borne Viruses by Vector Control ............................. 19 Plant Virus In h ib ito rs ..................................................................................... 22 MATERIALS AND METHODS.................................................................................. 25 Seasonal Abundance of Aphids ..................................................................... 25 Incidence of M osaic ........................................................................................ 30 Seasonal Incidence. ......................... 30 Border Effect ................................................................................................. 32 Control of Aphids and M osaic ..................................................................... 32 •f Insecticides ................................................................................. 32 Milk and C asein ........................................................................................ 36 ill P ag e Statistical Analyses ..................................................................................... 38 RESULTS.................................................................................................................... 41 Seasonal Abundance of A phids ................................................................ 41 Aphids Caught on Traps ........................................................................ 41 Aphids Caugt on Plants ........................................................................ 43 Most Abundant Species ........................................................................ 44 Identification of Most Abundant Aphids ............................................... 75 Incidence of M osaic ..................................................................................... 79 Seasonal Incidence ................................................................................. 79 Border Effect ................................................................................................. 80 Relationship between Aphids and Mosaic Spread ............................. 86 Control of Aphids and Mosaic .................................................................. 95 Insecticides ..................................................................................... 95 Milk and C asein ..................................................................................... 97 DISCUSSION............................................................................................................... 121 CONCLUSIONS......................................................................................................... 131 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................... 136 VITA.............................................................................................................................. 145 iv LIST OF TABLES TABLE P ag e I Efficiency of different aphid species as vectors of sugarcane mosaic and time required for the symptoms to appear in cage experiments. ............................................. 4 II Insecticide applications made in a 5-acre sugarcane plot at Brusly, Louisiana, 1962 .......................................................... 34 III Numbers of aphids of different species caught on sticky traps during 1962 at Brusly, Louisiana and during 1962-63 at Donaldsonville, Louisiana ........................................... 49 IV Monthly abundance of aphid species most frequently caught on sticky traps in untreated plots at Brusly and Donaldsonville, Louisiana, 1962-63 ........................................ 53 V Seasonal directions of prevailing winds and average numbers of aphids caught per trap, on traps facing different directions, Brusly, Louisiana, February 9 to September 29 , 1962............................................................................. 55 VI Seasonal directions of prevailing winds and average numbers of aphids caught per trap on traps facing different directions, Donaldsonville, Louisiana, October, 1962 to September, 1963 ............................................... 56 VII Aphids found on sugarcane plants at Brusly, Louisiana during different months of 1962 and 1963 ..................... 57 VIII Aphids found on sugarcane plants at Donaldsonville, Louisiana, during different months of 1962 and 1963 .... 58 IX Seasonal incidence of mosaic symptoms in small plots of sugarcane planted with disease-free seed on 4 dif ferent dates, Donaldsonville, Louisiana, 1962-1963. 81 X Percentages of 50 stalks showing mosaic symptoms from the untreated plots close to sugarcane with and without mosaic infection, Donaldsonville, Louisiana, August 2 , 1963.......................................................................... 84 XI Percentages of 20 stalks showing mosaic symptoms in the center and near the ditchbank of sugarcane cuts ex amined during a survey, Louisiana, 1962 ......................... 85 v TABLE P ag e XII Data and corresponding correlation coefficients between the incidence of sugarcane mosaic symptoms observed September 18, 1963 in small plots of sugarcane planted on 4 different dates, and numbers of aphids of different species trapped in the same field during periods of plant growth after emergence in the different plantings until August 21, 1963, Donaldsonville, Louisiana ......................... 89 XIII Periodic increases in incidence of mosaic symptoms and numbers of aphids of different species trapped 4 weeks prior to the indicated increase