STUDIES IN RUBUS VIRUS DISEASES

Raspberry leaf mottle virus is acquired by Amphorophora rubi in feeding periods of 1/2-2 hr. Longer feeding periods cause no significant fluctuations in infectivity. During continuous feeding on healthy plants, infectivity declines rapidly after 2 hr., but persists for at least 5 hr. if aphids are transferred frequently to fresh healthy plants. The estimated probability of infection by single aphids is 1 in 20. Rarely more than 50% of test plants, Rubus occidentalis , seedlings became infected, and this is thought to be due mainly to variation in plant susceptibility. Young leaves of infected Norfolk Giant are, however, better sources of virus than older leaves.     

STUDIES IN RUBUS VIRUS DISEASES

A chlorotic veinbanding disease of raspberries is shown to be due to a virus transmissible by the aphid Amphorophora rubi Kalt. after infection feeding periods of 18 hr. or more.
This virus causes leaf symptoms, masked in hot weather, on a wide range of European and North American varieties. Symptoms on the latter are analogous to those of the red raspberry mosaic of American authors.
The names veinbanding disease and raspberry veinbanding virus are proposed.     

STUDIES IN RUBUS VIRUS DISEASES

Yellows diseases of raspberry, previously considered to be physiological disorders, have causes, presumably viruses, that are transmitted by grafting. Several can be distinguished by the severity of symptoms produced in different raspberry varieties, but whether they are caused by distinct viruses or by related strains is uncertain. Two, called mild and severe yellows, are thought not to be related to the yellow mosaic and yellows virus described in North America.     

ROGUING POTATO CROPS FOR VIRUS DISEASES

Removing virus-infected plants from plots of Majestic potatoes at Rothamsted on 2 July 1947 did not reduce the spread of leaf roll but reduced rugose mosaic (potato virus Y) to about one-fifth of that in plots rogued on 21 July or left unrogued. Roguing Arran Pilot potatoes on 16 June or 2 July reduced leaf roll to five-sixths of that in unrogued plots; roguing on 16 June reduced rugose mosaic to about half that in plots rogued on 2 July, and about a quarter of that in unrogued plots. Lifting Arran Pilot potatoes in mid-August reduced virus diseases to about two-thirds.
Roguing flattened the gradient (decrease in percentage plants diseased with increasing distance from the source of infection) with rugose mosaic, but had little effect with leaf roll. Evidently any plants prevented by roguing from contracting virus Y were near the initially infected plants.
In 1948, Majestic and King Edward potatoes at three places were rogued during 22–24 June and tubers were dug during 28–30 July and again at the end of the season. Leaf roll spread more in Majestic than in King Edward, and rugose mosaic spread more in King Edward. Roguing reduced the spread of both by about one-fifth at Rothamsted, but had no effect at Sutton Bonington. At Bretton, in the Derbyshire hills, roguing had no effect on leaf roll, but prevented the spread of rugose mosaic.
The small benefit occasionally achieved by roguing in the ware-growing districts of England does not make the practice economically worth while.     

STUDIES IN RUBUS VIRUS DISEASES II.

Three diseases characterized by vein chlorosis of varying grades of severity are shown to be graft transmissible to a wide range of raspberry varieties. The diseases are thought to be caused by related strains of a virus transmissible by Doralis (Aphis) idaei V. d. G. and rarely, if at all, by Amphorophora rubi Kalt. It is proposed to refer to the diseases and viruses respectively as mild, moderate and severe vein chlorosis.     

VIRUS DISEASES OF CACAO IN WEST AFRICA

Of the tested plants which are indigenous to West Africa, three species in the Bombacaceae and four in the Steruliaceae are susceptible to one or more of four viruses from cacao, three occurring in the Gold Coast and one in Nigeria. These species are less affected than cacao by the viruses; some show transient leaf symptoms and others are symptomless carriers. The development of spines on the stems of Ceiba pentandra seedlings is suppressed by infection with virus 1 A.
In general, the indigenous species are more difficult to infect than cacao, and mealybugs do not become infective as readily when feeding on them as when feeding on infected cacao. The availability of the viruses to vectors seems to be correlated with severity of symptoms, and transmission from infected plants to cacao becomes less frequent with increasing duration of infection.
Ceiba pentandra trees were found naturally infected in the Gold Coast and Nigeria. In the Western Province of the Gold Coast, Cola chlamydantha trees in cacao farms and forests were naturally infected with viruses apparently identical with those causing swollen shoot of cacao there.
There is little doubt that C. chlamydantha trees are an important source of virus for cacao trees. Whenever possible these and other alternative hosts growing near to cacao should be destroyed.     

THE PHYSIOLOGY OF VIRUS DISEASES IN PLANTS

In this paper the movement in the plant of the causative agent of virus disease is discussed. The relevant data in the literature are summarised.
A method is described whereby a portion of the stem in the middle of a tomato plant was killed either by chloroform or by steam. In this way the living upper and lower portions of the plant were connected by a bridge of dead tissue. It is shown that the symptoms appeared in that part of the plant in which the inoculation was made. The virus agent did not travel across the dead region.
The xylem tracts were not materially affected by this treatment, and water travelled across the region. Evidence of this is the fact that the distal portion remained turgid and sometimes continued growth for a considerable time. If the stem were removed above the ground level and put into eosin solution, this travelled readily over the dead tissue. That the vessels were not occluded by protein plugs is shown by the fact that particulate substances were carried up the xylem tracts past the dead region.
No evidence of adsorption of the virus agent to the cell remains could be adduced, so it is assumed that it was not travelling in the xylem stream.     

VIRUS DISEASES OF CACAO IN WEST AFRICA

Increasing the number of Pseudococcus njalensis per test plant increased the infection rate with cacao virus 1A and 1M to 95 % with twenty-five insects. Young leaves with the red vein-banding symptoms were better sources of virus than mature leaves, and there was evidence of virus localization in the plant. It was estimated that Ps. njalensis nymphs took about 16 min. to penetrate plant tissues with their stylets.
Infection rates increased with time of test feeding up to 50 min. The virus was non-persistent in the feeding insect, but persisted up to 36 hr. in insects starved after the infection feed. Starvation before the infection feed increased the infection rate with infection feeds up to 10 hrs., after which the infection rate with pre-starved insects declined to the level attained by unstarved insects.