Wheat Curl Mite: A New Source of the Eriophyoid Mite in Wheat Fields Identified

Abstract

Wheat curl mites (WCMs; Aceria tosichella) are an important global pest of cultivated wheat. Their feeding activities on epidermal cells of wheat leaves result in characteristic leaf curl symptoms that prevent the unfurling of affected leaves and impair the proper emergence of heads from the boot stage. The most significant economic impact of WCM infestation, however, is their ability to vector and transmit four important viruses of wheat, specifically, wheat streak mosaic virus, Triticum mosaic virus, High Plains wheat mosaic emaravirus, and brome streak mosaic virus. Being wingless, WCMs are almost completely dependent on air currents for their dispersal. In addition, because of their obligate lifestyle, wheat field infestations are thought to originate from sources such as volunteer wheat. Corn and other cultivated and noncultivated Poaceae hosts are also known to act as green bridges between successive wheat crops. Consequently, management practices mostly target these off-season host plants but also the use of resistant varieties and other cultural control methods. Here we report the discovery of seed-borne WCM eggs, a previously unknown method of their dispersal, as a possible source of new infestations in wheat fields. This discovery expands our understanding of the biology of WCMs, with potential implications for the development of more holistic and effective management strategies for this economic pest and virus vector. [Formula: see text] Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY 4.0 International license .