The blackcurrant, also known as black currant or cassis, is a deciduous shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its edible berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia, where it prefers damp fertile soils. It is widely cultivated both commercially and domestically.
A pest is any organism harmful to humans or human concerns. The term is particularly used for creatures that damage crops, livestock, and forestry or cause a nuisance to people, especially in their homes. Humans have modified the environment for their own purposes and are intolerant of other creatures occupying the same space when their activities impact adversely on human objectives. Thus, an elephant is unobjectionable in its natural habitat but a pest when it tramples crops.
Ribes is a genus of about 200 known species of flowering plants, most of them native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The various species are known as currants or gooseberries, and some are cultivated for their edible fruit or as ornamental plants. Ribes is the only genus in the family Grossulariaceae.
Brome mosaic virus (BMV) is a small, positive-stranded, icosahedral RNA plant virus belonging to the genus Bromovirus, family Bromoviridae, in the Alphavirus-like superfamily.
Eriophyidae is a family of more than 200 genera of mites, which live as plant parasites, commonly causing galls or other damage to the plant tissues and hence known as gall mites. About 3,600 species have been described, but this is probably less than 10% of the actual number existing in this poorly researched family. They are microscopic mites and are yellow to pinkish white to purplish in color. The mites are worm like, and have only two pairs of legs. Their primary method of population spread is by wind. They affect a wide range of plants, and several are major pest species causing substantial economic damage to crops. Some species, however, are used as biological agents to control weeds and invasive plant species.
The jostaberry is a complex-cross fruit bush in the genus Ribes, involving three original species, the blackcurrant R. nigrum, the North American coastal black gooseberry R. divaricatum, and the European gooseberry R. uva-crispa. It is similar to Ribes × culverwellii, the jochelbeere, which is descended from just two of these species, R. nigrum and R. uva-crispa.
Beet curly top virus (BCTV) is a pathogenic plant virus of the family Geminiviridae, containing a single-stranded DNA. The family Geminiviridae consists of nine genera based on their host range, virus genome structure, and type of insect vector. BCTV is a Curtovirus affecting hundreds of plants. The only known vector is the beet leafhopper, which is native to the Western United States.
Cherry mottle leaf virus (CMLV) is a plant pathogenic virus causing leaf rot. It is closely related to the peach mosaic virus.
Hop latent viroid is a viroid, which is known to cause the Dudding Disease in hemp and cannabis. It is a non-capsulated strand of RNA and an obligate parasite that requires the presence of a compatible host for its survivability. It can have minor effects on hop quality, but has shown to cause severe stunting in hemp and cannabis. Due to its ability to remain undetected, it has become an issue of significant risk for some hemp and cannabis cultivars. Studies regarding this viroid and its ability to infiltrate its plant host are well underway; however, addressing measures to reduce its introduction into growing environments is still challenging.
Impatiens necrotic spot orthotospovirus(INSV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the order Bunyavirales. It was originally believed to be another strain of Tomato spotted wilt virus, but genetic investigations revealed them to be separate viruses. It is a negative-strand RNA virus which has a tripartite genome. It is largely spread by the insect vector of the western flower thrips. The virus infects more than 648 species of plants including important horticultural and agricultural species such as fuchsia, tomato, orchids, and lettuce (especially romaine). As the name implies, the main symptom on plants is necrotic spots that appear on the leaves. The INSV virus infects by injecting the RNA the virus contains into the cell which then starts using the cell resources to transcribe what the virus RNA states. Viral infection can often result in the death of the plant. The disease is mainly controlled by the elimination of the western flower thrip vector and by destroying any infected plant material.
Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV) is a plant pathogenic virus of the family Potyviridae that infects plants in the family Poaceae, especially wheat ; it is globally distributed and vectored by the wheat curl mite, particularly in regions where wheat is widely grown. First described in Nebraska in 1922, stunted growth and the eponymous “streaks” of yellowed, non-uniform discoloration are characteristic of WSMV infection. As it has been known to cause 100% crop mortality, WSMV is a subject of ongoing scientific research.
Phytoptus avellanae is an acarine gall-mite species inducing big bud galls of up to 10 millimetres (0.39 in) across, sometimes slightly open, on the buds of hazel and on filbert. Synonyms include Phytocoptella avellanae, Eriophyes avellanae, Calycophthora avellanae, Phytoptus coryli, Phytoptus pseudogallarum, and Acarus pseudogallarum. The mites are white, about 0.3 mm long, with numerous tergites and sternites. Two forms of P. avellanae exist, a gall causer and a vagrant form that has a more complex life-cycle and does not form galls.
High plains disease is a viral disease afflicting wheat and maize. It is caused by the negative-sense ssRNA virus High Plains wheat mosaic emaravirus. Symptoms are similar to Wheat streak mosaic virus, with leaf veins showing yellow flecks and streaks, followed by leaf margin purpling in maize. Depending on the timing of infection, stunting and death occur. Plants can be doubly infected with high plains virus and wheat streak mosaic virus.
High Plains wheat mosaic emaravirus (WMoV), or High Plains virus (HPV) or Maize red stripe virus (MRSV/MRStV) is the causative agent of High plains disease of maize and wheat. It is spread by wheat curl mite, Aceria tosichella, which also transmits Wheat streak mosaic virus. The mite's ability to transmit a number of different viruses to cereal crops make it an economically important agricultural pest. In late June 2017 this virus was first detected in Canada, in Alberta. The Alberta samples were 99% similar to those in the USA. As Wheat streak mosaic virus is already present in Alberta, and coinfection with these two causes even more severe damage, this could cause much higher yield losses.
Citrus leprosis(CL) is an economically important viral disease affecting citrus crops. This emerging disease is widely distributed in South and Central America, from Argentina to Mexico. The disease is associated with up to three different non-systemic viruses, which cause similar symptoms in the citrus hosts and are transmitted by the same vector, mites of the genus Brevipalpus; although they have vastly different genomes. Citrus leprosis virus nuclear type (CiLV-N) is found in the nuclei and cytoplasm of infected cells, while Citrus leprosis virus cytoplasmic type (CiLV-C) is found in the endoplasmic reticulum. In 2012, a new virus causing similar symptoms was found in Colombia and it was named Citrus leprosis virus cytoplasmic type 2 (CiLV-C2) due to its close similarity to CiLV-C. The cytoplasmic type viruses are the most prevalent and widely distributed of the three species.
Papaya leaf curl virus(PaLCuV) is a DNA virus from the genus Begomovirus and the family Geminiviridae. PaLCuV causes severe disease in papaya (Carica papaya), but can sometimes infect other crops such as tobacco or tomato. It can be found in tropical and subtropical regions primarily in India, but closely related species have also been detected in countries such as China, Malaysia, Nigeria and South Korea. This virus is transmitted by an insect vector from the family Aleyrodidae and order Hemiptera, the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. PaLCuV has been responsible for several epidemics and causes severe economic losses. Because of the broad diversity of these viruses, their characterization and control remains difficult.
Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) is a plant virus in the genus Tobamovirus that was first described in 2015. It has spread rapidly since it was first noted in Jordan and Israel. The main hosts are tomato and peppers. The virus causes symptoms including mosaic and distortion of leaves and brown, wrinkly spots (rugose) on fruits. Outbreaks can be severe and leave fruit unmarketable.
Cryptomyzus ribis is a species of true bug found in Europe and described by the Swedish taxonomist, Carl Linnaeus in 1758. The larvae feed on the leaves of currant bushes, especially red currant, creating abnormal plant growths, known as galls.
Apple rubbery wood virus, also known as apple rubodvirus is a viral disease that causes apple rubbery wood in apple and pear cultivars. There are two varieties: ARWV 1 and ARWV 2. It gets its name from its distinctive effect that it has on its host trees, which show unusual flexibility in the stems and branches after a few years of infection. This often results in the maturing fruits of the tree to weigh down the branches such that they lay on the ground. Apple rubbery wood, or ARW, occurs worldwide, affecting apple and pear cultivars in most developed countries.
