Mite transmitted viruses continue to be a serious threat to winter wheat throughout the Great Plains, and constitute the major disease threat to wheat in the western Great Plains. This webcast provides information on the behavior and biology of the mite and the mite-virus relationship important to understanding and efficiently managing this virus complex. Two critical time periods will be discussed. First, the period near wheat harvest when the mites move from the current wheat crop to new hosts that enable them to survive the summer. Secondly, we will discuss the later period when the mites leave their over-summering hosts to move to the new crop wheat and subsequently transmit virus that will seriously impact the new wheat crop. By the end of this presentation, farmers and other practitioners should understand the basis for management decisions that target this serious virus complex in wheat.
