ISHS Acta Horticulturae 808: II International Symposium on Tomato Diseases
TOMATO MOSAIC VIRUS: DOES IT TRANSMIT THROUGH TOMATO SEEDS? |
| Author: | P.M. Pradhanang |
| Keywords: | ToMV, ELISA, grow-out, HCl, acid, bleach, seed treatment |
| Abstract:
The objective of this study was to investigate whether tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) transmits to seedlings through contaminated tomato seeds. Four experiments were conducted under greenhouse and growth chamber conditions. Experiment I was comprised of grow-outs from ToMV-contaminated untreated (1,536 seedlings) and hydrochloric acid (HCl, 1%) treated (1,536 seedlings) seed lots. All plants failed to develop ToMV symptoms and leaf tissue samples tested negative by DAS ELISA. Experiment II was comprised of 1,200 plants from seed harvested from naturally infected field plants in California. Despite heavy contamination and viable ToMV on the seed, all grow-outs were healthy and although a few plants were shorter than others, none tested positive for ToMV. Experiment III was comprised of naturally contaminated seed pre-treated with HCl, HCl followed by bleach (1%), and untreated seed. These treatments consisted of 600 plants per treatment. Treated seeds had viable ToMV but again none of the grow-outs expressed ToMV symptoms. Leaf tissue samples consistently tested negative. For experiment IV, one of the two seed lots was seriously contaminated and tested positive for ToMV despite HCl and HCl/bleach seed treatment. Out of 1,408 grow-outs, 50% were transplanted into flats to attempt transmission. ToMV symptoms were not observed despite transplanting. All leaf and washed root samples tested negative for the virus. These results consistently indicate that ToMV does not transmit via contaminated tomato seed to the seedlings. HCl seed treatment should control the risk of seed transmission. | |
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