Abstract
Petunia leaf disks are often used to detect thrips transmitting Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV). In the present study, five Petunia x hybrida cultivars were compared in terms of their susceptibilities to TSWV infection determined by inoculation with Frankliniella occidentalis adults exposed as newly hatched larvae to TSWV at a given acquisition period. The efficiencies of TSWV transmission to two cultivars, ‘Polo Blue’ and ‘Celebrity Sky Blue’, by thrips transmitters were more than 90%. On the other hand, those of ‘Polo Rose Flare’, ‘Carpet Butter Cream’ and ‘Ultra Rose Star’ were lower, being 78.6%, 78.6% and 68.6%, respectively. This result suggests that several petunia cultivars are unsuitable in the assay using leaf disks to detect TSWV transmitters because of their low susceptibility to TSWV infection.
