Tomato mottle geminivirus found in Puerto Rico
During spring 1995, in four locations in Puerto Rico, commercial tomato fields showed nearly 100 % symptoms of virus-like disease. A small proportion of plants (;10 %) exhibited a yellow foliar mottle, and the main symptoms were severe leaf curl, stunting and cracking of tomato fruits. Quality of the fruit was reduced, and up to 80 % yield losses were observed. Transmission (by grafting and by Bemisia tabaci biotype B) and molecular studies were carried out to characterize the causal agent(s). The results showed that two geminiviruses were involved. The geminivirus causing the yellow mottle symptom was 99 % identical to tomato mottle geminivirus (EPPO A1 quarantine pest) from Florida. The other geminivirus causing severe symptoms seems to be a previously uncharacterized bipartite whitefly-transmitted geminivirus, which is thought to be indigenous to Puerto Rico. This is the first report of tomato mottle geminivirus from Puerto Rico.
Sources
Brown, J.K., Bird, J.; Banks, G.; Sosa, M.; Kiesler, K.; Cabrera, I.; Fornaris, G. (1995) First report of an epidemic in tomato caused by two whitefly-transmitted geminiviruses in Puerto Rico.
Plant Disease, 79(12), p 1250.