THE EFFECTS OF PEPPER V EINAL MOSAIC VIRUS IN RELATION TO TIME OF INOCULATION ON THE SYMPTOM EXPRESSION, FLOWER INITIATION AND YIELD OF PEPPER (CAPSICUM FRUTESCENS L.)

Plants inoculated with pepper veinal mosaic virus up to eight weeks after transplanting were stunted, sparsely branched and with leaves greatly reduced in size.
Plants inoculated eight weeks after transplanting developed tip blight but temporarily recovered later.
Leaves produced after recovery were again greatly reduced and showed strong veinal mosaic symptoms.

The time taken for systemic symptoms to appear increased with age of the plant at the time of inoculation.
Although the inoculated plants produced more flowers than the uninoculated, flower and young fruit abscission in the former were higher, resulting in lower fruit production.

Fruits produced by the inoculated plants were smaller, lighter in weight, distorted and ripened unevenly.
Loss in fruit yield due to the virus ranged from 46 to 90%, depending on the time of inoculation.

IV Africa Symposium on Horticultural Crops

P.N.L. Lamptey, C. Bonsi

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1977.53.31