Papaya Apical Necrosis, a New Disease Associated with a Rhabdovirus. R. Lastra, Laboratorio de Virus de Plantas, Centro de Microbiología y Biología Celular, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Apartado 1827, Caracas, Venezuela. E. Quintero, Centro de Investigaciones Agronómicas de la Región Zuliana (CIARZU), Carretera Perija, Maracaibo, Edo. Zulia, Venezuela. Plant Dis. 65:439-440. Copyright 1981 American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-65-439.

An apparently new disease affecting papaya (Carica papaya L.) was found in Zulia State, Venezuela. The initial symptom, a general yellowing of the plant, was followed by wilting of the younger leaves and necrosis of the plant apex. The disease was associated with a rhabdovirus measuring 210–230 × 80–84 nm and located in the nucleus of parenchyma cells usually in the phloem. The disease agent was transmitted by the leafhopper Empoasca papayae but could not be transmitted mechanically.