The present invention provides gene targets, constructs and methods for the genetic control of plant disease caused by multiple plant viruses. The present invention relates to achieving a plant protective effect through the identification of target coding sequences and the use of recombinant DNA technologies for post-transcriptionally repressing or inhibiting expression of the target coding sequences of plant-parasitic viruses. Protein-expression based approaches may also be utilized to augment phenotype resistance. Thus, transcription of a single transgenic event comprising one or more plant expression cassettes can allow for broad spectrum resistance of a plant to multiple plant viral strains and species among the geminiviruses, tospoviruses, and potexviruses.