Effect of temperature on the reproduction of a population of Xiphinema diversicaudatum

Abstract

Xiphinema diversicaudatum (Micoletzky) Thorne is widespread in peach groves of Borgo d'Ale in the province of Vercelli, northern Italy, where it is the natural vector of Strawberry Latent Ringspot Virus (SLRV) (Roca et al., 1986). Studies on the transmission of this virus have shown that not all populations of X. diversicaudatum are equally efficient in transmitting SLRV to indicator plants (Brown and Taylor, 1981; Brown and Trudgill, 1983). Moreover, individuals collected in different seasons from the rhizosphere of infected peach trees at Borgo d'Ale showed a variability in their vector efficiency depending on the time at which they were collected from the field (Lamberti et al., 1986). Transmission of the virus in nature certainly occurs at different rates during the course of the year and one of the factors involved is undoubtedly due to the size and biological integrity of the vector population. A study under controlled conditions of the effect of temperature on the reproduction of this population of X. diversicaudatum is one aspect of the examination of factors influencing transmission of SLRV.