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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fort Pierce, Florida » U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory » Subtropical Plant Pathology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #192939
Title: PARTNERSHIPS FOR PROGRESS: INDIA-US COLLABORATION FOR INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF THRIPS-BORNE TOSPOVIRUSES IN VEGETABLE CROPPING SYSTEMS

Author
item NAIDU, RAYAPATI - WASHINGTON STATE UNIV.
item RAVI, KANKANALLU - JALNA, INDIA
item Adkins, Scott
item RILEY, DAVID - UNIV. OF GEORGIA

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2006
Publication Date: 3/15/2006
Citation: Naidu, R.A., Ravi, K.S., Adkins, S.T., Riley, D.J. 2006. Partnerships for progress: india-us collaboration for integrated management of thrips-borne tospoviruses in vegetable cropping systems. Meeting Abstract.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Tospoviruses (genus: Tospovirus, family: Bunyaviridae) are a group of thrips-borne plant viruses that are emerging as a serious threat to many crops in global agriculture and horticulture. It has been estimated that tospoviruses cause global yield losses of about US 1 billion dollars in a wide range of crops. Worldwide, at least sixteen different tospoviruses are reported as pathogens on vegetables and other crops and at least twelve species of thrips (thysanoptera:Thripidae) have been confirmed as vectors of one or more tospoviruses. In recent years, diseases caused by tospoviruses have increasingly become a significant limiting factor in the sustainable production of vegetables in smallholder farming systems in India. Because insecticides give poor control of thrips and the virus can be transmitted with only a few minutes of thrips feeding, efforts to control diseases caused by tospoviruses through insecticides have been mostly unsuccessful. The Integrated Pest Management-Collaborative Research and Support Program (IPM-CRSP) of USAID has recently funded a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional project to conduct strategic research on tospoviruses and vector thrips in vegetable cropping systems in India and develop high throughput diagnostic tools for accurate detection of tospoviruses in plants and thrips. Because of the economic impact of Peanut bud necrosis virus (PBNV) in tomato, this project intends to study the epidemiology of the PBNV pathosystem in India and initiate a program to develop durable resistance in tomato against PBNV through conventional and biotechnological approaches. Outputs from this research will be used in the later stages of the project for developing sustainable and ecologically-based participatory IPM strategies to reduce losses caused by different tospoviruses in vegetable cropping systems. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of host country institutions in dealing with tospovirus disease problems through gender-sensitive graduate programs and training courses, and by disseminating knowledge through a wide variety of communication channels for the benefit of farmers and other stakeholders. The project places special emphasis on public-private partnerships and multi-stakeholder participation in research for development continuum. The project seeks to develop linkages with other IPM CRSP projects in the South Asia region as well as national and international organizations for greater synergies that could be beneficial for India and the US. It is envisioned that the project outputs would facilitate the production of safe and nutritious vegetables and prevent unintended negative consequences to biological diversity by minimizing indiscriminate use of pesticides.