The Latent Period of Beet Curly Top Virus in the Beet Leafhopper,Circulifer tenellus,Mechanically Injected with Infectious Phloem Exudate

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Abstract
The latent period of beet curly top virus (BCTV) was investigated by injecting beet leafhoppers, C. tenellus, with infectious phloem exudate from spinach plants. The probability of transmissions to the 1st test plant was usually less than that to subsequent plants, but this may be a behavioral artifact. Transmission efficiency during short (8-9 h) inoculation access periods (IAP) was greater per unit of time than that during long (48 h) IAP. This suggested that only part of the feeding cycle was involved in inoculation. The cumulative proportion of 1st transmissions during the 1st 6 successive inoculation access periods of equal length (8 or 9 h) following injection approximated a binomial function. The median latent period (LP50), estimated to vary from 16.3-18.8 h at 27.degree. C and .apprx. 27,000 lx of continuous light, suggests that although there may be a constant probability of inoculating a plant during any one of a sequence of IAP, it is less than 1.0.