Survey on Tomato torrado virus in Spain
From 2001 to 2008, a survey was conducted in Spain on Tomato torrado virus (ToTV - EPPO Alert List) in the main tomato-growing areas. Tomato leaves (451 samples) were collected from symptomatic plants in 92 glasshouses. ToTV was detected in samples from Alicante (Comunidad Valenciana), Almería (Andalucía), Barcelona (Cataluña), Murcia, Gran Canaria and Tenerife (Islas Canarias), and Mallorca (Islas Baleares). In this study, the incidence of ToTV in the tested samples varied from 58% in 2001 to 92% in 2005, with an average of 77% over the survey period. Approximately 60% of the samples were infected by Pepino mosaic virus (EPPO Alert List). Other viruses were also detected, such as: Cucumber mosaic virus (Cucumovirus), Parietaria mottle virus (Ilarvirus), Potato virus Y (Potyvirus), Tomato chlorosis virus (Crinivirus – EPPO A2 List), Tomato mosaic virus (Tobamovirus), Tomato spotted wilt virus (Tospovirus – EPPO A2 List), Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (Begomovirus – EPPO A2 List). This showed that torrado symptoms were not related to ToTV alone. ToTV is transmitted by whiteflies (Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum). Additional experiments confirmed that ToTV is efficiently transmitted by T. vaporariorum (up to 67% transmission efficiency) and that transmission efficiency varies between tomato cultivars. The authors also reported the susceptibility of a solanacearous weed species, Datura stramonium, to ToTV. Finally, they stressed that tissue-printing hybridization was a suitable detection technique which could be used to facilitate routine diagnosis of ToTV during large-scale surveys.
The situation of Tomato torrado virus in Spain can be described as follows: Present, detected in tomato samples from Andalucía, Cataluña, Comunidad Valenciana, Murcia, Islas Canarias and Baleares.
Sources
Alfaro-Fernández, A, Córdoba-Sellés MC, Juárez M, Herrera-Vásquez JA, Sánchez-Navarro JA, Cebrián MC, Font MI, Jordá C (2010) Occurrence and geographical distribution of the ‘Torrado’ disease in Spain. Journal of Phytopathology 158(7-8), 457-469.