1Department of Plant Pathology, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat-785013, Assam, India
2Department of Plant Pathology, Assam Agricultural University, College of Horticulture and Farming System Research, Nalbari-781335, Assam, India
*Corresponding author e-mail: Dibya Sree Dutta (dibya.sreedutta01@gmail.com)
Online published on 5 March, 2025.
A roving survey across five agro-climatic zones of Assam was conducted to assess the incidence of brinjal little leaf (BLL) disease and verify the presence ofgenetic diversity of phytoplasma strains associated. The highest disease incidence was recorded in the Upper Brahmaputra Valley Zone (18.73%) and the lowest in the Hill Zone (1.25%). Molecular analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences from this study revealed that the phytoplasmas infecting brinjal are ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma trifolii’ strains. In silico RFLP analysis further identify these strains as enclosed in the 16SrVI-D subgroup. Seed transmission studies confirmed that BLL phytoplasma is seed-transmissible, showing a 100% disease incidence in seedlings grown from seeds collected in symptomatic mother plants, verified through symptomatology, PCR, and 16S rRNA gene sequence comparison.
Brinjal, ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma, 16SrVI-D, Molecular identification
