Jamaica: Hope for farmers plagued by plant viruses
“Resistant means the virus will not affect it; tolerant means it might affect it and you might get 70 or 80 per cent of the product,” University of the West Indies senior lecturer in biotechnology, Marcia Roye, told the Jamaica Observer.
Roye said that over a 20-year period researchers have found more than 22 plant viruses, some of which have not been characterised as yet.
The white flies that transmit the viruses are able to wipe out complete crops, such as tomatoes, beans, corn, and cassava.
About the tomato yellow leaf curl virus, she said: “In the 1980s they were talking about Spring Plains and said they were going to grow vegetables for the winter market in the US, and they imported tomatoes from Israel and so this virus is from the Middle East. Instead of importing the seed, they imported the seedlings and we think that when the seedlings came in, the virus also came in on those seedlings.”
This virus, which is also called the ‘Jherri Curl virus’ in St Elizabeth (because it resembles the once popular hairstyle), is the most destructive to have affected the tomato crop and also affects scotch bonnet peppers.
Tomatoes are also affected by the tomato dwarf leaf virus, which results in stunted growth of tomatoes, leading to a small amount of fruit to be produced or none at all. This virus is native to Jamaica and also affects scotch bonnet peppers.
Read more at Jamaica Observer