ASSOCIATION OF PHYTOPLASMA AND BEGOMOVIRUS WITH SOME ORNAMENTAL PLANTS: A REVIEW

Abstract

In recent years, the development of the floriculture sector has received rising attention, particularly for the benefit of small-scale agricultural enterprises producing domestic seedlings of perennial ornamental plants and for export to neighbouring countries. Plant diseases, including those associated with phytoplasma infections and plant viruses, are affected by this industry, as are other sectors of the agricultural economy.In a number of commercial cut flowers and ornamental plants, phytoplasma and plant virus infection causes diseases, causing major economic losses globally.Therefore, phytoplasma and plant virus diseases are the key constraints in the production of lucrative ornamental plants and lower their quantum and quality, gaining international importance due to unspecific symptoms, different losses and complex epidemiology around the world. These disease epidemics forced the removal of several varieties of floricultural plants such as gladiolus, lily, chrysanthemum and rose from cultivation. In various ornamental plants in botanical gardens and various floriculture farms, symptoms of general yellowing as well as plant stunting, shoot proliferation, phyllody, virescence, lower cost of flowers and reddening of leaves were observed. The prevalent mode of distribution of plant viruses is vector transmission, vegetative propagation or seed, although in some cases, viruses are transmitted by mechanical contact. Begomoviruses in economically important ornamental plants, especially in the tropical and subtropical regions, are among the most dangerous epidemic-causing pathogens, but phytoplasmas of ornamental plants have been widely distributed geographically. Information on phytoplasma and begomovirus infecting ornamental plants has been addressed in this study