Ecology of Aphids on Sugarcane: III. Relationship between Alighting of Aphid Vectors of Sugarcane Mosaic Virus and Infecting in Fields

Field studies were conducted to determine the relationship between the occurrence of flying aphid vectors of sugar cane mosaic virus (SCMV) and the field infection rate from 1986-1987. The influence of the growth stage of sugarcane on the population of flying aphids in different fields was surveyed in 1989 in Amami Oshima Island, Kagoshima Prefecture. Winged aphids were captured in a yellow pan trap and the incidence of SCMV symptoms was determined periodically in sugarcane fields planted at different times. Of the known vectors of SCMV, Lipaphis erysimi, Aphis gossypii, Hyperomyzus lactucae and Myzus persicae were collected in sufficient numbers. Wingedaphid vector populations were high from April to June and from October to November, and the SCMV seasonal infection peaks were related to the peak vector populations. The population of flying aphids caught on sticky traps was higher in the fields of immature sugarcane plants. Planting of sugarcane in May could avoid SCMV vector infestations.