Leaf Curl of Papaya

Papaya (Carica papaya) is a tropical fruit having commercial

importance because of its high nutritive and medicinal value.
• It is originated in Mexico and spread to almost all the corners of
the tropical world.
Thomas (1939) first recorded this disease from Madras in our country.
The disease occurs very commonly in the States such as Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and all other places where
papaya is grown.
•
Fruit is a rich source of vitamin A and C.
• Its latex is used as a papain in food and medicine industry.
•India is the leading papaya-producing country in
the world.
• Infection with Tobacco leaf curl virus can severely
affect its commercial production, and moreover, it
can also impact the pharmaceutical industries.
•Thus, infection with PaLCuV causes greater loss of
crops, which may be a bottleneck for the desired
demand of industries.
 Symptoms
•The symptoms of the disease are very conspicuous and
the diseased plants are easily recognized in the field.
•Leaves show severe curling, crinkling, and distortion
accompanied by vein-clearing and reduction in size.
•They roll downward and inward giving an inverted cup-
like appearance.
•Affected leaf beacome leathery and britle and inter
veinal areas become raised due to hypertrophy which
develops rugosity.
•Inmost all the leaves at the top of the plant get affected and show
symptoms in many of the cases.
•Petioles become twisted in zigzag manner.
•The diseased plants become partially or completely sterile
depending on the stage at which infection takes place, i.e., the plants
can be diseased at any stage during their life.
•The overall growth of the plant is arrested.
 CAUSAL ORGANISIM and Disease cycle
• Tobacco leaf curl virus or Nicotiana virus 10 or Tobacco Virus 16.
•Besides Papaya , the virus also attacks tomato, tobacco, zinnia and
several other plants.
•If inoculated tomato or tobacco it shows leaf curl symptoms.
•The virus is geminivirus consisting of germinate particles, each
appearing as the results of partial fusion together of two isometric
particles.
•The protein coat has one type of protein molecule of about 28K mol.
Wt.
•Genome consist of two circular single stranded DNAs of about equal
size 2.4-2.8kb.
•Transmission:
•The transmission of the virus takes place by sap inoculation and
grafting, and by insect vectors. Bemisia tabaci, the whitefly, which
most frequently visits papaya plants, is considered to be the main
transmission agent of the virus in nature.
Management of Papaya Leaf Curl:
• Field sanitation is vey important in control of he disease.
• Once plant infected it never recovers.
• The diseased plant should be marked in the field as early as
possible, must be uprooted and destroyed or buried deep in
pits at isolated spot far from the field. This is the only
measure recommended to prevent disease occurrence.
• Build of the vector must be checked in he orchards.
•Soil application of Carbofuran (1 kg a.i./ha) at the time
of sowing and 4-5 foliar sprays of Dimethoate (0.05%) or
Metasystox (0.02%) or Nuvacron (0.05%) at an interval
of 10 days effectively controls the whitefly population.
•Use of resistant varieties is advocated but,
unfortunately, no such variety could have been raised so
far.