Maize White Line Mosaic Virus Transmission to Maize Seedlings in Hydroponic Culture. Raymond Louie, Research Plant Pathologist and Adjunct Professor, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster 44691. J. J. Abt, and J. K. Knoke. Agricultural Research Technician, and Research Entomologist (retired), Corn and Soybean Research Unit, USDA-ARS, and Department of Plant Pathology, The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster 44691. Plant Dis. 76:1069-1073. Accepted for publication 14 June 1992. 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, 1992. DOI: 10.1094/PD-76-1069.

A hydroponic culture system and the effects of nonchemical and chemical treatments of root inoculum on transmission of maize white line mosaic virus (MWLMV) were evaluated. Root pieces (0.2 g) from 8- to 10-wk-old infected Seneca Chief sweet corn (Zea mays var. saccharata) plants were used as inoculum to transmit MWLMV to roots of sweet corn test seedlings. MWLMV was transmitted consistently to seedling roots (>90%) as shown by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The ELISA values (absorbances at 405 nm) of root inocula and inoculated roots were not significantly correlated. Moreover, none of the nonchemical (amount of inoculum, exposure period, filter or distance barrier, depth of nutrient solution, and temperature of plant growth) or chemical (fungicide, antibiotic, insecticide, sterilant, and solvent) treatments of root inoculum prevented transmission of MWLMV. These tests indicated that in this hydroponic system, a vector need not be involved in the transmission of MWLMV to roots of seedlings with inoculum from infected roots.

Keyword(s): soilborne pathogen.