Pupation Disease of Cereals

a viral plant disease that affects both cultivated cereals, especially oats and corn, and wild grasses. In the USSR, the disease is widespread in Siberia. In diseased plants growth is inhibited, and light green or yellow mosaic spots appear on the leaves. Also, there is growth of flower tissues and proliferation of the ovary in oats, excessive development of tillers in barley, formation of chlorotic and curved ear in wheat, and dwarfing, stem deformity, and underdevelopment of generative organs in corn. The causative agent—the virus of the pupation disease in oats (Graminevorus avenae)—\\s transmitted only by the dark cicada; the virus winters in the carrier and in perennial weeds. Control measures include extermination of the dark cicada and weeds, sowing at optimum times, and obtaining a high plant population.