Prevalence of cucurbit viruses in trans-gangetic plains of India

During the studies, the incidence of viral diseases was recorded on different cucurbits. Hundred per cent incidence was observed on cucumber and muskmelon crops whereas, minimum incidence (15%) was observed on bottle gourd. The infected plants expressing various types of symptoms like mosaic, blistering, vein clearing, vein banding, chlorosis and leaf deformation etc. were collected and subjected for virus identification using Double Antibody Sandwich- Enzyme linked Immunnosorbent Assay (DAS-ELISA) and Ploymerase chain reaction (PCR). Six viruses viz., Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV), Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV), Squash mosaic virus (SqMV), Watermelon mosaic virus (WMV), Zucchini yellow mosaic virus (ZYMV) and begomovirus were found to be associated with these crops singly or in mixed infection.