Field Evaluation of Papaya Genotypes for Tolerance to Papaya Ringspot Virus under humid Tropics of Kerala

Author: Amrita Manohar, Anu G. Krishnan and Jyothi Bhaskar

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Abstract

Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV), a member of the potyvirus family, is a serious threat to cultivation of papaya across the globe. The identification and development of genotypes resistant to PRSV would be a boon to the farming community. Hence, an experiment was undertaken to study the tolerance level of twenty-five papaya genotypes to PRSV infection under Kerala conditions. Based on the research conducted at College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur, Kerala, during 2021–2022, the disease intensity score was found to range from 1.8 to 5.0. According to the symptoms observed, twenty-five genotypes were classified into moderately resistant (2), moderately susceptible (2), susceptible (17), and highly susceptible (4) categories. So, among the papaya genotypes evaluated, none of them were found to be resistant to PRSV, but the varieties CO 2 and CO 6 were found to have field tolerance to the viral infection.

Keywords

PRSV, papaya, Carica papaya L., resistance, tolerance, susceptible

Conclusion

In the present study, two TNAU papaya varieties were observed to have field tolerance (moderate resistance) against the papaya ringspot viral infection, whereas the rest of the genotypes fall under the moderate to highly susceptible category of disease intensity score. So, from the present investigation of twenty-five genotypes, the varieties CO 2 and CO 6 were found to possess field tolerance against PRSV under Kerala conditions. Thus, it can be concluded that one of the most effective strategies for disease control is the identification of a resistant or tolerant genotype and resorting to the cultivation of these genotypes or using the genotypes in the hybridisation programme. So, the field tolerant genotypes identified in the present study can be further used for multi locational trails to confirm their tolerance level at different locations in order to identify their use in the hybridisation programme.

References

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How to cite this article

Amrita Manohar, Anu G. Krishnan and Jyothi Bhaskar (2023). Field Evaluation of Papaya Genotypes for Tolerance to Papaya Ringspot Virus under humid Tropics of Kerala. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(4): 320-323.