July 10 , 2023
494 days
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- Tomato growers in Maharashtra and Karnataka have blamed two different viruses for the loss of yields.
- Farmers in Maharashtra have said their tomato crop was impacted by attacks of the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV).
- The Growers in Karnataka and other South Indian states have blamed the tomato mosaic virus (ToMV) for crop losses.
- The two plant pathogens have similar names and cause similar damage to crops.
- But they belong to different viral families, and spread differently.
- ToMV belongs to the Virgaviridae family and is closely related to the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).
- ToMV hosts include tomato, tobacco, peppers, and certain ornamental plants.
- CMV has a much larger host pool that includes cucumber, melon, eggplant, tomato, carrot, lettuce, celery, cucurbits
- CMV was identified in cucumber in 1934, which gave the virus its name.
- ToMV spreads mainly through infected seeds, saplings, agricultural tools and often, through the hands of nursery workers.
- CMV is spread by aphids, which are sap-sucking insects.
- CMV can also spread through human touch, but the chances of that are extremely low.
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