Does the Preconditioning of Vegetable Crops with Aluminum, Sodium, or Ammonium Reduce the Susceptibility to CMV Infection?

Abstract

Because cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) affects southernpea (Vigna unguiculata) grown in the southeast, plants were preconditioned with different nutrient solutions from germination to the flowering stage, 24 DAT (days after transplanting) and rub inoculated with CMV. Symptoms were observed at a rate of 1/5, 1/5, 4/5, and 4/5 (observed infected plants/plants infected) in the Al, NH4, NO3, and Na treatments, respectively. At 67 DAT, ELISA detected CMV at a rate of 5/5, 5/5, 4/5, and 4/5 (detected infection/plants infected) of the Al, NH4, NO3, and Na treatments, respectively. The interaction of inoculation and preconditioning was nonsignificant for fresh or dry weight (P > 0.10); however, nutritional preconditioning significantly (P < 0.01) affected the fresh and dry weight. These preliminary data suggest that nutritional preconditioning affects southernpea plants' reaction to CMV.