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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #227009
Title: Movement of winged aphids is poorly understood despite its importance in disease vectoring in Washington potatoes

Author
item Unruh, Thomas

Submitted to: Proceedings Washington State Potato Conference
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/20/2008
Publication Date: 6/10/2008
Citation: Unruh, T.R. 2008. Movement of winged aphids is poorly understood despite its importance in disease vectoring in Washington potatoes. Proceedings of the 47th Annual Washington State Potato Conference, Feb 5-7, 2008, Moses Lake, WA pp. 85-89.

Interpretive Summary: Aphids are key pests of potatoes because they carry disease into potato fields from surrounding virus sources. Flight behavior of aphids is both difficult to study and poorly known. Many past studies of aphid flight in the field have been incomplete because of inadequate tools to mark aphids and very weak methods to capture aphids. To improve our ability to understand aphid flight, particularly how it pertains to disease spread into potato fields, researchers at the USDA ARS-Yakima Agricultural Research Laboratory have developed a new method to both mark aphids in the field and to efficiently capture aphids. In these proceedings, which are derived from a talk to a grower audience, these technical developments are presented in the context of our general knowledge about aphid flight and how improved methods of aphid marking and aphid collection can be used to identify weedy sources of viruses and aphids in the landscape near potato fields.

Technical Abstract: Aphids are key pests of potatoes because they carry disease into potato fields from surrounding virus sources. Flight behavior of aphids is both difficult to study and poorly known. Many past studies of aphid flight in the field have been incomplete because of inadequate tools to mark aphids and very weak methods to capture aphids. To improve our ability to understand aphid flight, particularly how it pertains to disease spread into potato fields, I have developed a new method to both mark aphids in the field and to efficiently capture aphids. In these proceedings, which are derived from a talk to a grower audience, these technical developments are presented in the context of our general knowledge about aphid flight and how improved methods of aphid marking and aphid collection can be used to identify weedy sources of viruses and aphids in the landscape near potato fields.