Abstract
ABSTRACT During the winter season of 1996–1997, little leaf disease of psyllium (Plantago ovata) appeared for the first time in the experimental fields of CIMAP at Lucknow. Disease incidence ranged from 15 to 20 percent in severely infected fields with infected plants showing chlorosis, stunted growth, tiny leaves, excessive branching, and reduction in inflorescences. Electron microscopic studies revealed that infected leaf tissues contain numerous pleomorphic bodies that varied considerably in size (80–750 nm), shape (spherical, oval, some with budding) and electron opacity, and that were bounded by a smooth trilaminar membrane and contained ribosomes-like granules and DNA-like strands. Disease symptoms in infected plants showed remission if treated with tetracycline-HCL. The pathogen, not observed in healthy plants, appears to be a new type of phytoplasma.
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