Population Dynamics and Identification of Species of Aphids Attacking Wheat Plant in Daraa Governorate- Southern Syria

Results of the study revealed the presence of four aphid species which spread in the wheat fields of Daraa during 2013. They are: Schizaphis graminum (Rondani), Rhopalosiphum padi (L), Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch) and Sitobion avenae (Fab). S. graminum was most widely amounted rate (48%), followed by specie of R. padi (% 20) then R. maidis (% 16.8), and finally specie of S. avenae rate (14.9%). The appearance time of the different stages insect (nymphs, winged insects, winged) for its specie and their arriving time to the peak were identify.

A preliminary study for the detection of a cofactor protein (HC-pro) for aphid transmission in plants infected with viruses of the genus Potyvirus.

The genus Potyvirus is one of the most important plant viral genera, as it contains about 200 virus species, some of which are of great importance. Our study showed the wide spread of viruses belonging to this genus in different regions of Syria and during successive seasons, and the infection rate was 54.25% on the plants of the cucurbit family, and in the samples of the Solanaceae family 34.17%, while the cruciferous family was at a rate of 57.57%, which indicates the presence of these viruses and their transmission from one season to another.