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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Salinas, California » Crop Improvement and Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #168226
Title: UNDERSTANDING BEET CURLY TOP: A COMPLEX DISEASE THAT HAS PERSISTED FOR OVER A CENTURY.

Author
item Wintermantel, William - Bill

Submitted to: The California Sugar Beet
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/30/2004
Publication Date: 4/20/2004
Citation: Wintermantel, W.M. Understanding beet curly top: a complex disease that has persisted for over a century. The California Sugar Beet. 2004. p. 14-15, 25.

Interpretive Summary: During the spring and summer of 2001, Beet curly top virus (BCTV) reemerged as an important, economically damaging pathogen of sugarbeet, tomato and pepper in widespread areas of the westrn United States. These areas included California, the Snake River Valley of Idaho and the southwestern desert of west Texas and New Mexico. The disease was particularly severe in California where sugarbeet plants were severely stunted, and yields were reduced in large part due to losses from curly top disease. The resurgence of this disease along with efforts to reduce pesticide usage in agriculture demonstrates a real need to develop improved control strategies for this historic and persistent pathogen of sugarbeet. In order to develop new ecologically sound management and control strategies, it is necessary to understand the ecology of this disease with regard to strain prevalence over time, host range and vector relationships.

Technical Abstract: During the spring and summer of 2001, Beet curly top virus (BCTV) reemerged as an important, economically damaging pathogen of sugarbeet, tomato and pepper in widespread areas of the western United States. These areas included California, the Snake river Valley of Idaho and the southwestern desert of west Texas and New Mexico. The disease was particularly severe in California where sugarbeet plants were severely stunted, and yields were reduced in large part due to losses from curly top disease. The resurgence of this disease along with efforts to reduce pesticide usage in agriculture demonstrates a real need to develop improved control strategies for this historic and persistent pathogen of sugarbeet. In order to develop new ecologically sound management and control strategies, it is necessary to understand the ecology of this disease with regard to strain prevalence over time, host range and vector relationships.