Efficiency and Persistence of Movento® Treatment against Myzus persicae and the Transmission of Aphid-Borne Viruses

Abstract

Neonicotinoids are widely used to protect fields against aphid-borne viral diseases. The recent ban of these chemical compounds in the European Union has strongly impacted rapeseed and sugar beet growing practices. The poor sustainability of other insecticide families and the low efficiency of prophylactic methods to control aphid populations and pathogen introduction strengthen the need to characterize the efficiency of new plant protection products targeting aphids. In this study, the impact of Movento® (Bayer S.A.S., Leverkusen, Germany), a tetrameric acid derivative of spirotetramat, on Myzus persicae and on viral transmission was analyzed under different growing temperatures. The results show (i) the high efficiency of Movento® to protect rapeseed and sugar beet plants against the establishment of aphid colonies, (ii) the impact of temperature on the persistence of the Movento® aphicid properties and (iii) a decrease of approximately 10% of the viral transmission on treated plants. These observations suggest a beneficial effect of Movento® on the sanitary quality of treated crops by directly reducing primary infections and indirectly altering, through aphid mortality, secondary infections on which the spread of disease within field depends. These data constitute important elements for the future development of management strategies to protect crops against aphid-transmitted viruses.

A review on molecular aspects of virus-vector relationship to the aphids

“…Aphid-transmitted viruses belong to 19 of the 70 identified virus genera and account for over 275 virus species. Many of these viruses produce large economic losses in crops such as cereals (Jones et al, 2021), potatoes and sugar beets (Yi, 2020, Armand et al, 2021, Devar, 2022. Aphids have evolved as the most important group of insects to exploit higher plants as food sources and one of the most important vectors of plant viruses, parthenogenetic reproduction, viviparity, polymorphism, host alternation, wide host range in some species, and possession of needle-like mouth parts (Ghosh et al 2017).…”