THE INCIDENCE AND CONTROL OF CAULIFLOWER MOSAIC IN BROCCOLI IN SOUTH-WEST ENGLAND

Cauliflower mosaic in south-west England is most prevalent where there is a sequence of brassica crops that overlap in time. Broccoli yields can be increased by using plants raised in seed-beds separated by half a mile from old infected plants. Surrounding seed-beds with crops of kale or barley decreased the incidence of mosaic even when the seed-beds were only 5 yd. from infected plants.
Most plants infected at harvest contract infection after transplanting. A plant infected in the seed-bed or early in the growing season can produce a group of infected plants immediately around it, and almost as many farther away. Spread can occur in the same pattern from these secondarily infected plants.
Loss of yield is correlated with the time plants are infected. Plants infected as seedlings produce little or no curd or seed, whereas those infected when nearing maturity yield almost as well as uninfected plants.
The movement of alate aphids is positively correlated with the numbers of infectedplants, and symptoms in field plants generally appear 8–9 weeks after infection.
Cauliflower mosaic virus occurs in strains distinguishable by the severity of symptoms they cause.