New insights into virus yellows distribution in Europe and effects of beet yellows virus, beet mild yellowing virus, and beet chlorosis virus on sugar beet yield following field inoculation.

Beet yellows virus (BYV), beet mild yellowing virus (BMYV), beet chlorosis virus (BChV), and beet mosaic virus (BtMV) cause virus yellows (VY) disease in sugar beet. The main virus vector is the aphid Myzus persicae. Due to efficient vector control by neonicotinoid seed treatment over the last decades, there is no current knowledge regarding virus species distribution. Therefore, Europe‐wide virus monitoring was carried out from 2017 to 2019, where neonicotinoids were banned in 2019. The monitoring showed that closterovirus BYV is currently widely spread in northern Europe. The poleroviruses BMYV and BChV were most frequently detected in the northern and western regions. The potyvirus BtMV was only sporadically detected. To study virus infestation and influence on yield, viruses were transmitted to sugar beet plants using viruliferous M. persicae in quadruplicate field plots with 10% inoculation density simulating natural infection. A plant‐to‐plant virus spread was observed within 4 weeks. A nearly complete infection of all plants was observed in all treatments at harvest. In accordance with these findings, a significant yield reduction was caused by BMYV and BChV (−23% and −24%) and only a moderate reduction in yield was observed for BYV (−10%). This study showed that inoculation at low densities mimics natural infection, and quick spreading induced representative yield effects. Within the background of a post‐neonicotinoid era, this provides the basis to screen sugar beet genotypes for the selection of virus tolerance/resistance and to test the effectiveness of insecticides for the control of M. persicae with a manageable workload. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]