Status of bean yellow mosaic virus on Gladiolus

The status of bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV) in 32 cultivars of Gladiolus was investigated by examining the plants visually as well as by using the techniques like ELISA. Incidence of the disease was found to range from 0% to 100% on visual basis, whereas ELISA revealed almost 100% infection in plants, which were showing the symptoms. Almost 30% of the symptomless Gladiolus plants were also the carrier of the virus. Plants found positive for BYMV by ELISA were confirmed to carry the virus with immuno electron microscopy, cytopathological studies and by RT-PCR analysis employing primers specific to BYMV. The present investigation revealed the wide spread occurrence of BYMV in various Gladiolus cultivars whether with or without symptoms and the study suggested that symptomless plants must be examined for the presence of the virus before using them for healthy propagule production. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.