Ecology, epidemiology
 

- Storage, virus reservoirs

The beet pseudo-jaundice virus ( Beet pseudo-yellows virus , BPYV) is capable of infecting and conserving around forty plant species, belonging to 14 botanical families. Among them, we note cucumber, melon, squash, beetroot, chard, escarole and curly chicory, spinach, carrot ... Ornamental plants such as marigold ( Tagetes spp.), Zinnia, Callistepus spp., Aguilegia spp., Godetia spp., Are also potential hosts. Weeds that may be found near greenhouses, capsella, groundsel, sow thistle, dandelion, Lactuca serriola , chenopods, purslane, mallow and nightshade are also susceptible to infection.

It should be remembered that BPYV can also be easily introduced into a greenhouse through plants, in particular produced near crops already affected.


- Transmission, dissemination

The greenhouse , whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum , is the only known vector of BPYV. The latter is transmitted in semi-persistent mode. In general, the longer the acquisition period, the more the efficiency of virus transmission increases, even if some insects can already transmit BPYV after one hour of contact with the plant. Transmission is optimal after a 6 hour "meal". The latency period lasts only a few hours, the whitefly is then able to transmit the virus. Subsequently, the whitefly can remain infectious for up to 6 days, even if it feeds on uninfected plants in the meantime. The time between contamination and symptom expression is at least 15 days.

BPYV is not transmitted by seed.