Controlling Curly Top of Tomato Using Resistant Varieties and Row Covers
ISSN 2158-9429
Volume 5, Issue 2 - December 2012
Editor: Linda Chalker-Scott
Abstract
Curly top is a virus which causes wilting and death of tomatoes and other vegetables. Tomato plant losses have been reported as high as 90% in southern Utah. Curly top virus (CTV) is an insect vectored virus that is thought to be transmitted by the beet leafhopper (BLH, Circulifer tenellus). In 2009 the varieties Columbian and Rowpac, reported to be curly top resistant, were selected to compare with other popular varieties Celebrity, Jet Star, and Mountain Fresh . The resistant varieties, Columbian, and Rowpac showed 5.5% and 11.1% infection, compared to Celebrity, Jet Star and Mountain Fresh showing 22.2%, 5.5%, and 16.6% infection respectively. Any resistance present in the varieties tested must be very weak since both "resistant" and "hybrid" varieties showed CTV symptoms. In a separate study in 2010, row covers were applied to half of the plants as a way to exclude leafhopper feeding. BLH activity was monitored both inside and outside the covers using yellow sticky traps. There were six times more BLHs outside the row covers than there were inside the covers. None of the covered plants showed CTV symptoms and five of the control plants were symptomatic. Row covers appear to be an effective way to prevent CTV.
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