Transmission of Tomato spotted wilt virus by the dark form of Frankliniella schultzei (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) originating in tomato fields in Paraguay

Abstract

The efficiency of Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) transmission by the dark form of Frankliniella schultzei was studied in Paraguay using the petunia leaf disk assay. Twenty percent of F. schultzei females collected in a field with TSWV-infected tomato plants were found to be transmitters of the virus. When larvae, up to 8 h old, were given a virus acquisition access period of 24 h, many adults, 88.9% and 72.2% of all males and females, respectively, transmitted the virus. These results indicate that the dark form of F. schultzei originating in Paraguayan tomato fields can transmit TSWV efficiently and is an important vector of the virus.