First report of squash leaf curl geminivirus in Texas (US)
Squash leaf curl geminivirus (EU Annex I/A1) has been detected for the first time in Texas (US) in autumn 1993 on watermelon plants (Citrullus lanatus). Infected plants showed curled, blistered, yellowed, mottled leaves and small, deformed fruits. Disease incidence ranged from 75 to 100 % and yield losses were 30-100 % in the 24 fields surveyed and located in eight counties of south Texas. The disease was associated with Bemisia tabaci biotype B (B. argentifolii) infestations. Molecular studies have shown that a DNA fragment (amplified by PCR) from a conserved region of the coat protein gene was respectively 95 and 98 % identical to fragments of two isolates of squash leaf curl geminivirus from California and Arizona. The authors pointed out that this is the first report of a whitefly-transmitted geminivirus infecting cucurbits in Texas. According to the EPPO Secretariat the records of squash leaf curl geminivirus in Arizona and Texas are new.
Sources
Isakeit, T.; Robertson, N.L.; Brown, J.K.; Gilbertson, R.L. (1994) First report of squash leaf curl virus on watermelon in Texas.
Plant Disease, 78 (10), p 1010.