August 5, 2004 By Paul Hollis, Farm Press Editorial Staff
Tifton-- What researchers don't know about tomato spotted wilt
virus is a lot, says Alex Csinos, University of Georgia research
pathologist, but they continue to learn more each year. “We
think the disease is complicated by many factors,” said Csinos
during this year's Georgia Tobacco Tour. “Just about anything
you can think of has something to do with tomato spotted wilt
virus in some fashion.” Researchers believe, he says, that the
severity of the virus is affected by weather conditions.
“Weather conditions affect not only the development of virus
symptoms on the plant, but they also affect the development of
thrips, the insects that transmit the disease to tobacco
plants,” says Csinos. Other factors that affect the development
of the virus include weeds and host crops planted around a
field, he says. In addition, the location of a field can be a
factor, he adds. “This is an extremely complex system, and you
can’t pick out just one thing and say if w