Nvad 069
Nvad 069
Nvad 069
https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvad069
Research
Insect-Microbial Interaction
The beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus (Baker 1896), is the sole vector of beet curly top virus (BCTV). Both the
virus and the vector have very wide host ranges, including many crops and weeds. Industrial hemp (Cannabis
sativa L.) has been reported as a host for both the virus and leafhopper in the past few years with the legal culti-
vation of the crop in the United States. This research assessed the interactions of the beet leafhopper and hemp
in New Mexico by determining the natural infection of hemp with BCTV in 3 field plots in 2021 and 2022 and
monitoring the numbers of leafhoppers using yellow sticky traps. The relative preference of beet leafhopper
for hemp types and varieties of hemp was assessed using cafeteria-style choice tests. Higher numbers of beet
leafhoppers were trapped in and around hemp fields in 2022 than in 2021 in all 3 locations. BCTV was found
to infect all 3 types of hemp (cannabidiol or CBD, fiber, and grain) in 2022 in 1 location and only a single CBD
variety of hemp in the other 2 locations. Two BCTV strains were identified in CBD hemp, while an additional
BCTV strain was found infecting chile pepper grown at the same location.
The beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus (or Neoaliturus tenellus) Leafhoppers collected from different locations can have differing
(Baker 1896), is a generalist feeder, prefers semiarid and arid regions, feeding preferences. Hudson et al. (2010) showed that in cafeteria-
and is endemic throughout the western and southwestern United style plant choice tests of beet leafhoppers collected from California
States (Cook 1967). The leafhopper vector feeds and breeds on an and New Mexico, 88% of California leafhoppers selected sugar
extensive range of plant families that vary by location and season beets, while 47% of the New Mexico leafhoppers chose kochia.
(Douglass and Cook 1954). The beet leafhopper often overwinters Neither population of leafhopper preferred chile or tomato, with the
on different winter annual weeds (Carter 1930, Hills 1937). In New Mexico leafhoppers choosing chile at 1.5% and tomato at 4%
southern New Mexico, the beet leafhopper has been found to over- for the same tests.
winter on annual mustards such as London rocket (Sisymbrium irio The beet leafhopper is the sole vector of beet curly top virus
L.) (Ray et al. 2005), moving onto summer annual weeds such as ko- (BCTV) in North America. BCTVs (Curtovirus) are generally
chia (Kochia scoparia) in the late spring (Davis 2010, Dobey 2017, phloem limited in their host and are transmitted in a persistent cir-
Creamer 2020). culative manner by the beet leafhopper (Soto and Gilbertson 2003).
The beet leafhopper has been shown to feed on crop plants that it Circulifer tenellus transmits curtoviruses very efficiently after feeding
does not prefer and on which it cannot complete its life cycle. Hudson on infected plants for 2 days; feeding shorter times (2–20 min) still
et al. (2010) found that while leafhoppers will feed on chile peppers and produces low levels of virus transmission (Bennett 1971). The virus
tomato plants, the leafhopper does not lay many eggs on the plants and requires a 4-h latent period in the insect before it can be transmitted.
the eggs that are laid do not hatch. Adult leafhoppers caged onto chile The virus does not replicate in the leafhopper and is not transmitted
pepper plants for 24 h showed greater than 90% mortality. Munyaneza transovarially (Soto and Gilbertson 2003). Leafhoppers can inocu-
and Upton (2005) found that leafhopper mortality was very high when late the virus into healthy plants by feeding for as little as 15 min.
caged on bean (95%) and tomato (65%) for less than a week. Leafhoppers retain the ability to transmit virus for days to weeks.
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: 1
[email protected].
2 Environmental Entomology, 2023, Vol. XX, No. XX
Generally, young plants are most susceptible to curtovirus infection BCTV-CO (a BCTV-Wor-like recombinant originally identified from
and transmission efficiency increases with number of leafhoppers Colorado sugar beets) and BCTV-LH71 (a recombinant originally
that feed on the plants (Wang et al. 1999). identified from leafhoppers from California) predominated (Chen
Analyses of beet leafhopper feeding using electrical penetration and Gilbertson 2016). A 2012–2015 survey of sugar beets showed
graph waveforms demonstrated that salivation while feeding on the a large number infected with BCTV-CO (Strausbaugh et al. 2017).
phloem is correlated with inoculation of BCTV to 3- to 5-wk-old The same isolate was identified in 2018 in southern New Mexico
sugar beets (Stafford et al. 2009). Unlike many other phloem-feeding infecting sugar beets but was not found on chile grown nearby
insects, beet leafhoppers do not need to salivate into phloem before (Creamer 2020). BCTV was characterized from leafhoppers col-
ingesting phloem sap, they ingest phloem sap very slowly, and they lected in northern Oregon in 2007–2009 (Rondon et al. 2016).
Table 1. Planting and harvest dates for hemp trials at 3 New Mexico locations in 2021 and 2022
surrounding hemp on 4 June, 11 June, and 23 July 2021. There BCTV symptoms on hemp were not noted in 2021 from any lo-
were slightly more leafhoppers collected from cards surrounding cation. In 2022, symptoms of BCTV were noted on CBD hemp from
hemp on 14 May and 16 September 2021 (Fig. 1). There were more all 3 locations, as well as on fiber hemp from Leyendecker. CBD
total leafhoppers collected from cards surrounding chile than hemp hemp plants, var. The Wife, from all 3 locations were verified using
in 2021 (Table 2). In 2022, more leafhoppers were collected sur- AmpliFire system as containing BCTV (Table 3). All hemp varieties
rounding hemp than chile at all dates except 20 May and 3 June grown at Leyendecker were verified as containing BCTV using the
(Fig. 2). An overall higher total numbers of leafhoppers were col- same system.
lected from cards surrounding hemp than from those surrounding PCR for BCTV was carried out on symptomatic hemp plants
chile (Table 2). grown at Leyendecker (Table 3). Hemp plants without symptoms of
Fig. 1. Beet leafhoppers collected from yellow sticky traps in 2021 from around chile pepper plots and hemp plots at Leyendecker Plant Science Center, Las
Cruces, NM.
Fig. 2. Beet leafhoppers collected from yellow sticky traps in 2022 from around chile pepper plots and hemp plots at Leyendecker Plant Science Center, Las
Cruces, NM.
Environmental Entomology, 2023, Vol. XX, No. XX 5
Discussion found in chile than in hemp in 2021 and the reverse in 2022. The
timing of peaks in leafhopper trap catches did not correlate between
The beet leafhopper fed on and was associated with hemp in New
the 2 yr. The higher number of leafhoppers found in chile in June
Mexico. This was demonstrated through the trapping of beet
2021 compared to hemp is likely due to the very late planting date
leafhoppers in and around hemp fields in several locations and the
(26 May) for hemp in 2021. The hemp plants were very small in June
transmission of BCTV to those hemp plants. The numbers of beet
2021 compared to moderate-sized chile transplanted a month earlier.
leafhoppers trapped in hemp varied by location and year. More
The large numbers of leafhoppers trapped early in 2022 correlated
leafhoppers were trapped in 2022 than in 2021. While the trapping
with a high number of BCTV-infected plants. Young plants have been
season was longer in 2022 than 2021, the differential in leafhopper
shown to be more susceptible than older plants to beet leafhopper
a
Detection (+/−) using Amplifire system. Two plants were tested from each location of each type of hemp.
b
Virus strain assessment from symptomatic plants with nucleic acid sequencing of PCR amplicons.
Table 4. Beet leafhopper choice test among hemp types with chile pepper
Choice tests began with 7 leafhoppers for each trial. One-way ANOVA between at least 2 groups (F (4, 10) = [7.25], P = 0.005). Means followed by different
letters are significantly different (Tukey, P = 0.05).
6 Environmental Entomology, 2023, Vol. XX, No. XX
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