Maize wallaby ear symptom (MWES) is caused by the maize orange leafhopper
Cicadulina bipunctata, which feeds on various Poaceae plants. We examined the effects of
C. bipunctata infestation on 6 summer-seeding forage crops. Swelling of leaf veins, which is the characteristic symptom of MWES, was not observed in infested plants of the orchard grass
Dactylis glomerata, sorghum
Sorghum bicolor, Rhodes grass
Chloris gayana, Sudan grass
Sorghum sudanense, and guinea grass
Panicum maximum, although significant growth suppression occurred in the orchard grass and Rhodes grass. However, strong growth suppression and severe swelling of leaf veins was observed in all varieties of the oats
Avena sativa and
A. strigosa that were infested by
C. bipunctata, indicating that MWES could occur in oats as well as in the maize
Zea mays. Both adult and nymph
C. bipunctata individuals could feed on orchard grass, sorghum, Sudan grass, and oats, indicating that these 4 crops could be the host plants of
C. bipunctata. Because MWES clearly affected oats but not the other 3 crops, it seems that development of MWES on feeding plants is not indispensable for the survival of
C. bipunctata.
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