An Improved Method of Selecting and Breeding for Active Vectors of Hoja Blanca Virus1

A technique for selecting and breeding active vectors of the hoja blanca virus of rice resulted in production of a colony of Sogata orizicola Muir with a transmission rate near 100%. This method, requiring only 4–10 days, was superior to a former method requiring 20–26 days. With the new technique 2nd through 5th-instar nymphs are placed on 3- to 4-day-old rice plants. Active vectors obtained have 20–27 days of adult life left for utilization in transmission studies, although an active vector might not infect a plant in a given period. Active vectors caged for intervals of 1–3 days did not produce 100% infection.