Development and evaluation of integrated disease management module for leaf curl disease in chilli

Abstract

Chilli (Capsicum anuum L.), belonging to the family solanaceae, is being cultivated and consumed as vegetable and spice crop world-wide. Despite India ranks first in chilli production in the global scenario, chilli leaf curl disease (ChiLCD) associated with begomoviruses has emerged as a major constraint for its production. The symptoms associated with ChiLCD are curling of leaves, stunting of plants, reduced size of leaves, puckering and thickening of leaves, yellowing of veins and veinlets, etc. In severe cases, infected plants fail to produce fruits leading to 100% crop loss. Recent reports of ChiLCD in Indian subcontinent demonstrated the association of various begomoviruses such as chilli leaf curl virus (ChiLCV), chilli leaf curl India virus (ChiLCINV), chilli leaf curl Vellanad virus (ChiLCVV), tomato leaf curl Joydebpur virus, papaya leaf curl virus (PaLCuV), pepper leaf curl Bangladesh virus (PepLCBV) and tomato leaf curl New Delhi virus (ToLCNDV) (Kumar et al., 2015). In addition to their severe damage in inland conditions, ChiLCD are causing severe yield loss under island conditions too.