Delia platura, the seedcorn maggot or the bean seed fly, is a fly species in the family Anthomyiidae.[2]
Delia platura | |
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Delia platura at Nebo, North Wales (July 2012) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Family: | Anthomyiidae |
Genus: | Delia |
Species: | D. platura
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Binomial name | |
Delia platura (Meigen, 1826)
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Synonyms[1] | |
D. platura is an agricultural pest of peas and beans. It is a vector of bacteria that cause potato blackleg.[3][4] It can be controlled by mouldboard ploughing.
Dr. Leach first became impressed with the role of insects in the development of plant diseases, and the potential for research in this field, when he began a study in 1923 of the role of the seed-corn maggot in the development of potato blackleg. This classic study, published in 1926 (5), illustrates how insects break down natural defense barriers, such as the wound periderm, while transmitting inoculum of the pathogen to the infection court. Further studies revealed the symbiotic relationship of the causal bacterium and the maggot (7).