Centre for Advanced study in Botany, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai-600025.
Abstracts of the papers presented at the 16th Annual Convention and International Symposium of Indian Virological Society on “Management of Vector-Borne Viruses” at International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Patancheru-502324, Hyderabad, India, February 7–10, 2006.
Peanut bud necrosis virus (PBNV) is a serious plant pathogen affecting several important crops through out the world. In cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), the virus it induces wilt disease, which was prevented by using ozone (O3). Application of O3 to the seedlings resulted in a higher level of protection against PBNV. In this study, treatments were made in open top chambers (OTCs) and a highly efficient disease preventing mechanism was developed. Two minutes treatment (T2) suppresses wilt efficiently as compared to four minutes (T4) and six minutes treatments (T6). However, in control (seedlings treated with non-filtered air) the disease severity was higher. Mechanism of disease suppression by O3 in treated seedlings (T2, T4 and T6) than to that of control was not known. Present results indicated that ozone successfully induced systemic resistance in in vitro cultured cowpea plants. This is the first report of use of ozone for protecting seedlings against PBNV.
