Instant Insights

This book features six peer-reviewed reviews on viruses affecting key horticultural crops.

The first chapter considers best management practices for the control of viruses and virus-like agents in apple production, including the development of orchards with clean, virus-tested planting stock. The second chapter comprehensively details how Apple mosaic virus is spread and describes the symptoms displayed by affected host plants.

The third chapter examines the challenge of Plum pox virus (PPV) control for sustainable cultivation of plums and looks at the genetic and molecular basis of PPV resistance in Prunus.

The fourth chapter outlines the major insect-transmitted viruses infecting tomato crops, including viruses transmitted by aphids, thrips, whitefly and leafhoppers.

The fifth chapter reviews current knowledge on banana bunchy top disease. The chapter outlines symptoms of the disease, as well as the biological characteristics of the pathogen related to host range, transmission and spread.

The final chapter discusses the symptoms, taxonomy, diagnosis, epidemiology and control of minor viral pathogens of banana, plantain and abaca, such as cucumber mosaic virus, banana bract mosaic virus and sugarcane mosaic virus.