Je. Brown et al., DELAY IN MOSAIC-VIRUS ONSET AND APHID VECTOR REDUCTION IN SUMMER SQUASH GROWN ON REFLECTIVE MULCHES, HortScience, 28(9), 1993, pp. 895-896
Silver reflective plastic mulches were compared with conventional bare
-ground culture of yellow crookneck summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L. v
ar. melopepo Alef.) for reducing aphids and the following mosaic virus
diseases: cucumber mosaic, watermelon mosaic I and II, zucchini yello
ws mosaic, and squash mosaic. Plants grown on silver plastic mulch pro
duced higher marketable yields than those grown on bare ground. Other
colors (white, yellow, and black with yellow edges) of plastic mulch w
ere intermediate in their effects on aphid population and virus diseas
e reduction. Silver reflective mulch alone and silver reflective mulch
with insecticide were superior to other colors of plastic mulch in re
ducing aphid populations. Silver reflective plastic mulch, with or wit
hout insecticide, resulted in 10 to 13 days delay in the onset of the
mosaic diseases noted.