Final report : control of insect transmitted viruses utilizing insect"s response to color and contact stimuli

This led to the development of mulching methods with different reflective materials such as aluminum, plastics, etc., to reduce introduction of aphid transmitted viruses in the protected field. The main problems with these methods are their high cost, and the fact that as crops grow, they cover and shade the mulch, reducing its activity to a short period at the crop"s start. The main idea of this study was to apply various reflective materials directly onto plants and to assess different aspects of these applications in regard to virus control. Among the many materials tested were two whitewashes, Loven and Yalbin, and two clays, L and I, which were tested in Israel, and a commercial bright Kaolin (K), tested in Portugal. All materials were tested for their reflectance and except for clay L, all were highly reflective in the visible spectrum. (Author abstract)