Vol. 10, Issue 10 (2021)

Author(s):
A Arulsia, R Kannan, N Rajinimala, N Balakrishnan and R Ramamoorthy

Abstract:
A new Streak Virus is prevalent in almost all Okra growing regions of southern districts in Tamil Nadu, but at a low to moderate severity. Symptoms of the virus in Okra include chlorotic spots with mild mosaic, veinal browning, chlorotic leaf blotches, distortion of leaves and fruits with malformation. Okra plants showing these symptoms were collected from different locations of Thiruvaikundam, Karungulam, Agaram, Killikulam, Palayamkottai, Surandai, Alangulam, Thovalai and Aralvaimozhi. The highest disease incidence was observed in Thiruvaikundam (48%), while the lowest in Vellamadam (16%). The virus inoculum was prepared in 0.1M Potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) and inoculated into test plants (i.e., Okra and cowpea). Inoculated plants were observed 2-3 days after inoculation (DAI) for the development of symptoms. Symptoms like chlorotic spots, lesions, light and dark green patches were observed on Cowpea test plants. The infected Okra seedlings developed mosaic, distorted leaf and chlorotic symptoms after 15-20 days of inoculation.