Just as hungry hordes of grasshoppers threatened fields during Nebraska’s pioneer era, certain mites and aphids these days pose a significant threat by transmitting viruses to cereal crops. Many gaps remain in the scientific understanding of that transmission, and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in recent years has taken major steps to pioneer research on these issues.

To spearhead the effort, the university in 2023 hired Shaonpius Mondal, a scientist with deep experience in studying arthropods as virus vectors in agriculture, as an assistant professor of entomology.

Mondal and his team are pursuing multiple advanced research projects studying cereal viruses transmitted by wheat curl mites and aphids. (Aphids are classified as both arthropods and insects; mites are classified only as arthropods.)

Filling in this knowledge can provide a major help to agriculture by enabling more effective practices to contain the threats. 

The effects from pest-borne viral infection can be catastrophic. In 2022, the U.S. wheat sector suffered nearly $66 million in losses due to wheat streak mosaic virus, a disease spread by the wheat curl mite.

Another disease transmitter is the bird-cherry oat aphid, a pest common in Nebraska. The aphid spreads barley yellow dwarf virus, a major disease threat to wheat and small grains crops in the U.S. and worldwide.

The research by Mondal and members of his lab is part of the university’s longstanding support for Nebraska’s wheat and cereal crop sector.

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