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Begomovirus infections in tomato plants propagated under different physical protection of seedbeds

Abstract:

The begomovirus-Bemisia tabaci complex is the main limitation for tomato production in Venezuela, and its management begins with the production of healthy seedlings. Starting from seedbeds grown under different physical protection conditions, the spread of begomoviruses was studied in a farm in the north western zone of Zulia State. The treatments were: T1, seedbed protected (SP) with fine screen; T2, SP transplanted together with some seedlings infected with Tomato yellow leaf curl virus; T3, seedbed without protection (SSP), these three in the Phytosanitary Technical Unit of the Universidad del Zulia; T4. SSP in the own farm; T5, SSP grown in a commercial nursery in Lara State. Following transplanting, plants with apparent viral symptoms were weekly counted and in the last three weeks nymph of B. tabaci were also counted. At the end of the experiment, samples of symptomatic plants were taken and presence of begomovirus was detected, by PCR, in all of them. Although all the plants ended symptomatic, symptoms appeared sooner in T5 compared to the rest, especially with T1, where the vector infestation was lower than under T2, T4 and T5 (P≤0.05). Protected seedbeds along with other agronomic practices may represent an alternative to retard begomovirus transmission by B. tabaci.