Response of bird pepper (Capsicum frutescens L) genotypes to leaf curl virus

摘要

Pepper (Capsicum spp.) is an important spice cum vegetable, providing green and dry fruits. Leaf curl virus (LCV) disease is one of the most serious and devastating biotic stresses in pepper causing severe loss in yield particularly in summer (Peter,1998). It is caused by Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl Virus (TYLCV) which is a gemini virus spread solely by Bemisia tabaci, the silverleaf whitefly (SLW). Controlling the vector population using chemicals could reduce the severity of the disease but is costlyand perilous to man and environment. Developing resistant cultivars would be an effective proposition. In the most cultivated Capsicum annuum, most genotypes are highly susceptible, whereas bird pepper (Capsicum frutescens) possesses considerable resistance to this disease. Inter-specific crosses between these two species are viable though with some difficulty. Hence, resistant lines of bird pepper identified can be utilized to transfer resistant genes into more economic C. annuum cultivars.