AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF Richard Elroy Weltnn for the Ph. D. in Entomology* (Name) (De reeÍ (Mayor) Date thesis is presented Title: SUSCEPTIBILITY OF PEAS TO APHID INOCULATION WITH BEAN YELLOW MOSAIC VIRUS

Abstract approved or nr*±fessor The effects of soil moisture, mineral nutrition and temperature on the susceptibility of peas to inoculation with bean yellow mosaic virus (BM) by the green peach aphid, _Ryzus aer s icae ( zlz.) were investigated along with three vector-virus relationships. In addition, a compar-ative study was made of two methods of evaluating suscep-tibility of slants to inoculation with virus by aphids. A more accurate method of estimating plant susceptibility to inoculation with virus by aphids is proposed. With this method, the aphid is allowed to probe only once on a test plant rather than spending; its entire infective feeding period on the plant. There was no statistically significant difference be