Situation of thrips and tomato spotted wilt tospovirus in the northwest of Portugal
In the northwest of Portugal, surveys have been carried out from April 1992 to October 1993 in glasshouses of tomato, melon, green beans, carnation, gerbera and rose to study the incidence of thrips (including Frankliniella occidentalis) and tomato spotted wilt tospovirus (both EPPO A2 quarantine pests). Thrips populations have been monitored by using sticky traps and their infectivity has been tested. The occurrence of TSWV has been studied by using ELISA. The results have shown that ten species of thrips are present, with a predominance of Thrips tabaci (also a vector of TSWV). Frankliniella occidentalis was only observed in rose glasshouses. Transmission experiments demonstrated that many thrips captured alive on flowers of ornamentals and weeds were infected and able to transmit TSWV. Finally, TSWV was detected on several plant species: lettuce, tomato, watermelon, melon and 15 ornamental crops (especially on Gerbera, Gladiolus and Chrysanthemum but also on Dahlia, Limonium latifolium, L. sinuatum, Liatris spicata, Lavandula spicata, Camellia japonica, Callistephus sinensis, Cyclamen, Impatiens, Sinningia vulgaris, S. speciosa and Xeranthemum annuum). The authors concluded that the thrips/TSWV complex is established in the northwest of Portugal, but noted that further surveys would be needed, in particular to study the incidence of impatiens necrotic spot tospovirus.
Sources
Pereira, A.M.N.; Cortes, M.I. (1994) The complex thrips/tomato spotted wilt virus in the northwest of Portugal.
Paper presented at the 9th Congress of the Mediterranean Phytopathological Union.