Oat Blue Dwarf Virus in Its Plant Host and Insect Vectors. Roland G. Timian, USDA, ARS, Department of Plant Pathology, North Dakota State University, Fargo 58105. Plant Dis. 69:706-708. Accepted for publication 19 January 1985. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1985. DOI: 10.1094/PD-69-706.

Latex serological tests were used to show that 0.9 and 1.6% of the barley plants in North Dakota growers’ fields were infected with oat blue dwarf virus (OBDV) in 1982 and 1983, respectively. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to show that 15% of the early-migrating Macrosteles fascifrons leafhoppers in North Dakota tested positive for OBDV in 1983. The level of leafhoppers testing positive for the virus decreased to near zero in August. OBDV is probably transported into the state each year from areas to the south.

Keyword(s): ELISA, leafhopper migration.