Open AccessTítulo en español
Author(s) -
Luis F. Martorell,
José Adsuar
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
the journal of agriculture of the university of puerto rico/the journal of agriculture of the university of puerto rico
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.123
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 2308-1759
pISSN - 0041-994X
DOI - 10.46429/jaupr.v36i4.12786
Subject(s) - medicine
The bunchy top disease of papaya is found wherever its insect vector, Empoasca papayae Oman, occurs: Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Haiti, Jamaica, and Cuba. The Virgin Islands (St. Thomas and St. Croix), Vieques, and the State of Florida, appear so far to be free from this disease. The role of Empoasca dilitara as a vector of bunchy top should be studied in Cuba, since it occurs there along with E. papayae. E. dilitara is common in Puerto Rico, but has never been collected from papaya. Papaya mosaic is found in Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Florida. This disease is transmitted by various species of plant aphids. The symptoms of the disease are similar in all the areas studied, but whether the same virus occurs in all three places must be determined by further investigations. Aphis spiraecola Patch is a potent vector of papaya mosaic in Puerto Rico. The role of the aphids found in papaya in Cuba and Florida should be further investigated.