Disease Note.

Report of a Geminivirus Disease Complex Associated with B-Biotype of Sweetpotato Whitefly in Belize, Central America. R. O’Doherty, Horticulture Research International, Worthing Road, Littlehampton BN17 6LP, U.K. Plant Dis. 79:1250. Accepted for publication 28 August 1995. Copyright 1995 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-79-1250B.

In 1991, field-grown tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill), sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.), and black bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants showing yellow mosaic and leaf curl symptoms (referred to locally as “gemini curls”) were examined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using monoclonal antibodies prepared against Indian and African cassava mosaic viruses (ICMV and ACMV) (1). Three distinct geminiviruses have been identified, using a panel of monoclonal antibodies (ACMV 17, 18, 20, and 23 and ICMV 52) and polymerase chain reaction, although these viruses have not yet been further characterized. Field-collected Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) exhibited esterase banding patterns similar to previously identified B-biotype specimens from the U.S. Further enzyme studies have also shown that an organophosphate-insensitive acetylcholinesterase (2) is present. Before 1989, B. tabaci was reported only as a sporadic pest and vector of bean golden mosaic geminivirus. Vegetable production has fallen drama- tically since whiteflies and associated viral disease(s) have become more abundant. The whitefly has further spread to crops of broccoli (Brassica oleracea L.) and melons (Cucumis melo L. and Citrullus lunatus (Thunb.)), on which its feeding has caused direct damage.