Seed-borne viruses detected on farm-retained seeds from smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh and Vietnam

W. Manyangarirwa, J. Sibiya, C A Nieves Paulino Mortensen

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingArticle in proceedingsResearch

    Abstract

    The smallholder farming sector in much of the developing world
    relies on the use of farm-retained seed. The availability of good
    quality disease free seed is important in enhancing food security
    but seed-borne viruses can be a major problem on farm-retained
    seed. Seeds of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.),
    paprika (Capsicum annuum L.), cowpea (Vigna unguiculata
    L. Walp), bambara [Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.] and
    peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) from smallholder farmers in
    Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh and Vietnam were tested
    for seed-borne viruses using various techniques including
    electron microscopy, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay
    (ELISA) and biological assays. Tomato mosaic virus (ToMV)
    was detected in 36% of tomato samples and in 8% of paprika
    samples using indicator Nicotiana tabacum cultivars Xanthinc
    and White Burley. Some 43% of cowpea samples were
    infected with Cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV) and
    7% were infected with the Blackeye cowpea mosaic strain of
    Bean common mosaic virus (BCMV-BlCM). Peanut mottle
    virus (PeMoV) was detected with an infection range of 5.4%-
    12.5% in bambara samples tested using indirect antigen-first
    ELISA, indicator IITA cowpea lines Tvu 3433, Tvu 1582, Tvu
    401 and Tvu 2657 and Phaseolus vulgaris cultivar Topcrop.
    No viruses were detected in the peanut samples. The lack of a
    broad range of serological antisera limited the number of viruses
    tested but results show that the bulk of the samples were
    infected with seed-borne viruses. The results imply that
    resources must be invested in improving the quality of seed
    from the smallholder sector. National and international
    germplasm collection centres should be equipped with capacity
    to test for seed-borne viruses so as to minimize the movement
    of infected germplasm in breeding materials or germplasm
    exchange in international collections.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationSecond RUFORUM Biennual Regional Conference 2010 : Entebbe, Uganda
    Number of pages7
    Publication date2010
    Pages1063-1069
    Publication statusPublished - 2010
    EventSecond RUFORUM Biennial Meeting - Enteppe, Uganda
    Duration: 20 Sep 201024 Sep 2010
    Conference number: 2
    http://www.ruforum.org/content/second-ruforum-biennual-regional-conference-2010

    Conference

    ConferenceSecond RUFORUM Biennial Meeting
    Number2
    Country/TerritoryUganda
    CityEnteppe
    Period20/09/201024/09/2010
    Internet address

    Keywords

    • BRIC
    • Detection
    • farm-retained seed
    • smallholder farmers

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