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Disease Note.

A Disease of Tomato in Kuwait Associated with Mycoplasmalike Organisms. A. M. Jafri, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Kuwait University, Kuwait. J. H. Mirza, Department of Botany and Microbiology, Kuwait University, Kuwait. Plant Dis. 73:701. Accepted for publication 6 March 1989. Copyright 1989 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-73-0701B.

A disorder observed in tomatoes grown in the fields and vegetable gardens in different areas of Kuwait was first suspected of being a virus disease, but close observation of symptoms suggest the disease may be similar to big bud of tomato (1,2). The calyx segments remain united, and the whole calyx enlarges to a bladderlike form with a toothed opening at the top. Phyllody and greening of the flowers have also been observed, and at times the growing part of the plant has a witches'-broom appearance. The stem and leaflets thicken, and the plant appears woody. The disorder is not transmissible by mechanical means (sap inoculation). Electron microscopy of leaf-dip and crude extract preparations does not show any virus particles, but ultrathin sections of infected tissue show mycoplasmalike organisms (MLOs) in the phloem region of diseased, but not of asymptomatic, tissue. Electron microscope studies and symptom expressions suggest that an MLO causes this disorder of tomato. This is the first report on mycoplasmalike diseases in tomato from Kuwait.

References: (1) J. P. Varma and Poonam. Sci. Cult. 45:205. 1979. (2) S. Zimmerman-Gries and M. Klein. Plant Dis. Rep. 62:590, 1978.